Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded the Missouri Language and Literacy Center (MLLC) at the University of Missouri’s College of Education & Human Development a $50,000 grant to support youth literacy initiatives. This local grant award is part of more than $3 million in grants awarded this fall to nearly 760 nonprofit organizations, libraries and schools across the 46 states that Dollar General serves.

“On behalf of the MLLC, we are very grateful for this award,” said Candace Kuby, Department Chair and MLLC Primary Investigator. “This funding is providing books and text sets for Missouri teachers to use in their PreK-12 classrooms. We are also thrilled that the funding will support teachers to attend the MLLC Summer Institute in 2022.” 

The project funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation will serve more than 500-grade K-12 students in urban and rural districts in central Missouri by providing evidence-based training to teachers and providing critical tools to be used in classrooms. Support will also send teachers to a 2022 Summer Institute at MU, which is focused on evidence-based practices in literacy education – with a goal to boost literacy in all populations for the purpose of developing literacy skills that will enhance all aspects of life.

The Missouri Language and Literacies Center (MLLC) has a mission to transform education to meet the complex language and literacies needs of the 21st century. They carry forth this vision by hosting a range of collaborative projects and professional development opportunities to positively impact language and literacy learning in Missouri schools, its rural, suburban, and urban communities, and beyond.

“The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has been proud to invest in literacy and education programs in the communities we call home for nearly 30 years,” said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and vice president of corporate social responsibility at Dollar General. “As the educational landscape continues to shift, our hope is that these funds will help increase access and resources for students, educators and communities dedicated to reading and learning.”

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education. Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $200 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 14 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education.