A number of schools and organizations in Limestone County and across north Alabama are among the recent recipients of education-oriented literacy grants awarded this year through the Dollar General Literacy Foundation (DGLF).

Earlier this month, DGLF announced the awarding of nearly $290,000 in literacy grants to nonprofit organizations, libraries and schools throughout Alabama, including three awards in Limestone County and more throughout surrounding counties.

Area recipients are listed at the bottom of this article, while a comprehensive list of grant recipients in Alabama and nationwide can be found online at dgliteracy.org. The grants awarded to Alabama organizations are expected to positively affect the lives of approximately 23,000 individuals statewide, DGLF said in a press release.

Funds awarded this year are the result of “a record-setting, one-day donation” in the Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s overall history of raising more than $13.2 million to support adult, family, and summer literacy programs in the 48 U.S. states in which the Dollar General company operates.

The DGLF grants are intended to support schools, public libraries, and nonprofit organizations that lie within a 15-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center in their area, with the goal of implementing new literacy initiatives or expanding existing ones in their local communities. The award funding “may be used to purchase new technology, books, materials or software to enhance literacy programs,” according to the foundation.

“For over 30 years, the Foundation has been investing in literacy and basic education programs in our hometown communities,” said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation in the foundation’s release. This year’s grant announcement, she added, marks “a celebration of our unwavering commitment to student and teacher success. We are grateful to all the grant recipients for their commitment to advancing education and helping students thrive.”

Learn more about the DGLF foundation’s literacy grant programs online at www.dgliteracy.org.

Limestone County and other north Alabama recipients of this year’s DGLF awards include:

Athens

Blue Springs Elementary School — $3,000

Learn to Read Council of Athens and Limestone County, Inc. — $10,000

Tanner 

Calhoun Community College Adult Education Program — $5,000

Lexington (Laudedale County)

Lexington Public Library — $800

Huntsville (Madison County)

Huntsville-Madison County Library Foundation — $3,000

Muscle Shoals (Colbert County)

Northwest Shoals Community College — $10,000

Courtland (Lawrence County)

Courtland Public Library — $1,000

Scottsboro (Jackson County)

Scottsboro Public Library — $3,000