United Through Reading Receives $150,000 Grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to Support Youth Literacy Initiatives

October 18, 2021

San Diego, CA – October 18, 2021 – Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded United Through Reading (UTR) a $150,000 grant to support military 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.

“We are so grateful to Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s support of United Through Reading. Since 2018 they have served as our Books for Ownership Sponsor, helping military children receive a free book along with their United Through Reading recording,” said Dr. Sally Ann Zoll, CEO of United Through Reading.

The grant will help UTR purchase and distribute more than 14,000 children’ books in 2022 to military and Veteran families around the world, supporting the literacy development of military-connected children, an academically at-risk population. Since 2018, Dollar General Literacy Foundation has served as UTR’s Books for Ownership sponsor and their grants have helped United Through Reading  distribute over 96,000 new, high-quality children’s books benefitting military and Veteran households. 

“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.


About United Through Reading
United Through Reading keeps military families reading together, no matter the distance between them. Families stay connected through video recordings of storytime and books, sent to military families to help ease the stress of separation, maintain positive emotional connections, and cultivate a love of reading and early childhood literacy. Service members and veterans can record a story for their family at more than 200 United Through Reading recording locations worldwide, as well as on their mobile device with our free and secure reading App. Since 1989, 2.5 million military members and their families have benefited from the program. Learn more at unitedthroughreading.org.

About the Dollar General Literacy Foundation

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded more than $200 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 14 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy, a general education diploma or English proficiency. Each year, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation provides financial support to schools, nonprofit organizations and libraries within a 15-mile radius of Dollar General stores and distribution centers. To learn more about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation or apply for a literacy grant, visit www.dgliteracy.org.

About Dollar General Corporation

Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for more than 80 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day.® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, housewares and seasonal items at everyday low prices in convenient neighborhood locations. Dollar General operated 17,683 stores in 46 states as of July 30, 2021. In addition to high-quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America’s most-trusted manufacturers such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg’s, General Mills, and PepsiCo. Learn more about Dollar General at www.dollargeneral.com.

# # #

×