Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia’s Thurgood Marshall Club Receives $3,000 from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation

Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia’s Thurgood Marshall Club Receives $3,000 from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation

Grant Aims to Support Local Youth Literacy

Chesapeake, VA – October 3, 2023 – The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia’s Thurgood Marshall Club a $3,000 grant to support its youth literacy efforts during Power Hour programming. The funding is part of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s recent award of nearly $2.6 million across the country to support more than 300,000 students attending more than 600 schools, libraries, and nonprofit organizations in the communities Dollar General calls home.

Power Hour is Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s program that helps all Club members, ages 6-18, by providing homework help, tutoring, and learning activities. This program runs four days a week throughout the school year and aims to spend one full hour completely focused on schoolwork and new learning opportunities. For a portion of Power Hour, Club members will participate in literacy-enhancing activities. This award will provide books and technology to help nearly 200 Club members improve reading comprehension, maintain and improve sight word recognition, and experience the joy of reading new and exciting books.

“We are proud to award these grants to literacy and education programs across the country and support their meaningful work of expanding children’s joy of reading and creating a foundation for future educational growth,” shared Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. “We are excited to make a difference in thousands of students’ lives through these donations and look forward to making more positive impacts as we celebrate the Foundation’s 30th anniversary year.”

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation supports organizations that increase access to educational programming, stimulate and enable innovation in the delivery of educational instruction, and inspire a love of reading. Each year, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards funds to nonprofit organizations, schools, and libraries within a 15-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center to support adult, family, summer, and youth literacy programs. The Foundation also offers a student referral program for individuals interested in learning how to read, speak English, or prepare for the high school equivalency exam.  Referrals to a local organization that provides free literacy services are available online here or through referral cards found in the Learn to Read brochures that are available at the cash register of every Dollar General store.

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About Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia

For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia (bgcseva.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, the organization serves 7 cities throughout Southampton Roads and provides services to nearly 2,000 youth organization-wide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For 160 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has provided a safe place for kids and teens to learn and grow. Clubs offer caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Boys & Girls Clubs programming promotes academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. More than 4,700 Clubs serve 4.6 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more about Boys & Girls Clubs of America on Facebook and Twitter.

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 $238 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 19.6 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.