HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The Dollar General Literacy Foundation (DGLF) recently awarded Wallace State Community College a $10,000 grant to support family literacy. The funds contribute to a recordsetting, singleday total of nearly $16 million in grants nationwide — supporting adult, family and summer literacy programs in the 48 states where Dollar General operates. The milestone surpasses the Foundation’s previous record of more than $13.2 million granted in May 2025.
“Wallace State’s Families Learning Together initiative helps adult learners improve basic literacy skills by becoming their children’s first teachers,” Patti Wilkins, director of adult education. Wallace State’s Adult Education program offers the Families Learning Together initiative annually. This program features adult learners and their children participating together in all learning activities. Library workshops, shared reading sessions, take-home literacy kits and the Adult Education Fall Family Literacy Festival engage parents and children simultaneously, reinforcing literacy skills across generation. “Since the Foundation’s inception in 1993, our focus has remained on making meaningful investments in students, teachers, and the organizations that support literacy and learning at every stage of life,” said Denine Torr, executive director of the DGLF. “We are grateful for the impact teachers and educators make every day and are excited to have another record setting year of helping expand literacy access for learners of all ages. These funds will help educators enhance their instruction and create opportunities that help empower students to reach their full potential.” The DGLF 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, DGLF 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 at www.dgliteracy.org/program-locator or through referral cards found in the Learn to Read brochures that are available at the cash register of every Dollar General store. The DGLF plans to launch its seventh annual Yellow Glass campaign, www.dgliteracy.org/yellowglasses/campaign, on July 20, 2026, in which customers can purchase yellow sunglasses at Dollar General stores for $2 each to benefit the DGLF. For more information about Wallace State’s Adult Education program, visit www.wallacestate.edu/adulted or call 256-352-7859.
