The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded Bramlett Elementary School a $1,817 grant to support youth literacy. The local grant is part of $4.5 million in youth literacy grants awarded to approximately 1,000 organizations across the 43 states that Dollar General serves.

The school’s grant was written by BES teacher Erica Oliver with the goal of providing Osmo technology for all classrooms —prekindergarten, Kindergarten and four first-grade classrooms—at Bramlett Elementary School. An Osmo is a unique accessory for an iPad that allows a child to interact with the learning device through hands-on activities.

“Osmo helps foster learning for a student in the areas of social and emotional skills, art, creative thinking, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics),” explains BES Principal Suzanne Ryals.

Ryals says the Dollar General Literacy Grant will help expand the school’s technology initiative by providing resources for early childhood literacy development. Early literacy plays a key role in enabling the kind of early childhood  learning experiences that research shows are linked with academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates and enhanced productivity in adult life.

“We are thrilled to expand learning resources for our students and offer a new way to use technology devices at our school,” said Ryals.

Supporting teachers

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation grants, which are given at the beginning of the academic year, are aimed at supporting teachers, schools and organizations with resources to strengthen and enhance literacy instruction.

“By awarding these grants, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation is committed to making a meaningful impact in our local communities,” said Todd Vases, Dollar General’s  chief executive officer. “These grants provide funds to support youth literacy initiatives and educational programs throughout the communities we serve to ensure a  successful academic year for students.”

Committed to helping increase the literacy skills of individuals of all ages, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more that $127 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping nearly 7.9 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education since its inception in 1993. The Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards grants each year to nonprofit organizations, schools and libraries within a 20-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center to support adult, family, summer and youth literacy programs.

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation also supports customers’ interests in learning how to read, speak English or prepare for the high school equivalency test. At the cash register of every Dollar General store, customers may pick up a brochure with a postage-paid reply card that can be mailed in for a referral to a local organization that offers free literacy services.