The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has announced the award of more than $90,000 for youth literacy grants in Florida that work to help students and educators reach their literacy goals throughout the academic year. These funds are aimed at supporting youth literacy programs within a 20-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center across the 44 states Dollar General serves. The grants awarded to Florida organizations are expected to positively impact the lives of more than 9,500 students.
“Each fall, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation proudly provides financial support to schools, libraries and nonprofit literacy organizations that help students and teachers as they head back to the classroom,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s chief executive officer and Dollar General Literacy Foundation board member. “Whether it is providing books and technology or enhancing reading programs, today’s grants will help students reach their full potential through targeted literacy initiatives that impact the communities Dollar General serves.
Statewide grants are part of more than $2.8 million that the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded this morning. Recipients of today’s grant announcements plan to use Dollar General Literacy Foundation funds to help students learn to read, prepare for the high school equivalency exam or learn English. Florida recipients are listed below and a comprehensive list of grant recipients may be found online at www.dgliteracy.org.
| Organization | City | County | Grant Amount |
| Apopka High School | Apopka | Orange | $2,500.00 |
| Hope CommUnity Center | Apopka | Orange | $2,500.00 |
| Babcock Neighborhood School | Babcock Ranch | Charlotte | $2,500.00 |
| Polk Education Foundation and Business Partnerships Inc. | Bartow | Polk | $2,500.00 |
| Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization | Boynton Beach | Palm Beach | $2,500.00 |
| Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition | Boynton Beach | Palm Beach | $2,500.00 |
| United Community Centers Inc. | Bradenton | Manatee | $2,500.00 |
| For Each 1 Reach 1 Mentoring Program Inc. | Brooksville | Hernando | $2,500.00 |
| Antioch Elementary School Media Center | Crestview | Okaloosa | $3,000.00 |
| Firewall Centers, Inc. | Davie | Broward | $2,500.00 |
| CATALYST Global Youth Initiatives,Inc. | Deltona | Volusia | $2,500.00 |
| Sunrise Middle School | Fort Lauderdale | Broward | $2,500.00 |
| GiGi’s Playhouse – Gainesville | Gainesville | Alachua | $2,500.00 |
| Guadalupe Center, Inc. | Immokalee | Collier | $2,500.00 |
| City Year Jacksonville | Jacksonville | Duval | $2,500.00 |
| Communities In Schools of Jacksonville | Jacksonville | Duval | $2,500.00 |
| The Foundation of Osceola, Inc.County | Kissimmee | Osceola | $2,500.00 |
| Educational Foundation of Lake County, Inc | Leesburg | Lake | $2,500.00 |
| Pinecrest Elementary | Lithia | Hillsborough | $2,500.00 |
| Loxahatchee Groves Elementary School | Loxahatchee | Palm Beach | $2,500.00 |
| Greater Marco Family YMCA, Inc. | Marco Island | Collier | $2,500.00 |
| Conway Elementary School | Orlando | Orange | $2,500.00 |
| Foundation for Orange County Public Schools, Inc. | Orlando | Orange | $2,500.00 |
| Lighthouse Central Florida Inc. | Orlando | Orange | $2,500.00 |
| Riviera Elementary School | Palm Bay | Brevard | $2,500.00 |
| Students in the Arts | Palm Springs | Palm Beach | $2,500.00 |
| New Horizons Learning Center | Panama City | Bay | $3,500.00 |
| Pine Forest High School | Pensacola | Escambia | $2,000.00 |
| lincoln elementary | Riviera Beach | Palm Beach | $3,000.00 |
| Azalea Elementary School | Saint Petersburg | Pinellas | $2,500.00 |
| Seminole County Public Schools | Sanford | Seminole | $2,500.00 |
| Police Athletic League of St. Petersburg | St Petersburg | Pinellas | $2,500.00 |
| Muller Magnet Elementary PTA | Tampa | Hillsborough | $2,500.00 |
| Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay, Inc. | Tampa | Hillsborough | $2,500.00 |
| Wellington Community High School | Wellington | Palm Beach | $2,500.00 |
| PACE Center for Girls, Inc. | Wilton Manors | Broward | $2,500.00 |
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards grants each year to organizations located within a 20-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center to further adult, summer, family and youth literacy and education initiatives in the communities that Dollar General calls home. Applications for the 2020 Dollar General Literacy Foundation grant cycle will be available on January 2, 2020.
To date, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $172 million in grants to schools, libraries and literacy organizations as part of its commitment to improve literacy skills for individuals of all ages. The Dollar General Literacy Foundation was created in 1993 to honor Dollar General’s co-founder, J.L. Turner, who was functionally illiterate and never completed a formal education.
Over the past 26 years, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has directly impacted more than 11 million individuals’ lives by investing in programs that have helped individuals take their first steps towards learning to read, learning English, or completing their high school equivalency.
