Local youth and adult literacy programs received support recently in the form of two grants from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

The Learn-to-Read Council of Athens and Limestone County received $1,050 for its summer youth literacy program and $10,000 for its adult literacy program. Executive Director Rhonda Andrews said Learn-to-Read has been the beneficiary of the grants in the past, and she’s thankful for the funds.

“They’re wonderful to work with,” she said of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. “Their goal is to make communities more literate.”

The adult literacy program grant will help Learn-to-Read cover salaries, materials, travel, software and training. The summer youth literacy program grant will help pay for training, books and software.

The awards to the Learn-to-Read Council were just part of nearly $224,000 in grants the foundation awarded to Alabama schools, nonprofits, literacy organizations, libraries and schools. The funds are aimed at supporting adult, family and summer literacy programs within a 20-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center across the 44 states Dollar General serves.

Statewide grants are part of more than $8.3 million awarded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. Recipients plan to use Dollar General Literacy Foundation funds to help adults learn to read, prepare for the high school equivalency exam, promote childhood summer reading or learn English.

“We are honored to fund literacy and education initiatives, which support our mission of ‘Serving Others,’” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO. “We believe these programs can have a positive impact on the communities we serve and we look forward to continuing to partner with organizations dedicated to making a difference in the lives of millions of Americans.”

Vasos said the Dollar General Literacy Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. During that time, the foundation has provided more than $154 million in funding to help more than 10 million people.