SEVIERVILLE, TN – The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded the Sevier County Public Library System (SCPLS) a $2,000.00 grant to support summer reading programs. This local grant award is part of more than $7.5 million in grants awarded to nearly 900 schools, nonprofits and organizations across the 44 states that Dollar General serves.

“The Sevier County Public Library System is pleased to be a recipient of this grant for summer reading programs from the Dollar General Foundation. Support from businesses such as this help make summer reading programs possible for most libraries, including ours. We are grateful the Dollar General Foundation felt our program plan was strong enough to merit their support,” states Rhonda Tippitt, library system director.

The SCPLS has a long history of implementing well thought out and planned literacy programs for the community, for all ages, but especially for Sevier County's children. Beginning with preschool story hour and going through those teen years, SCPLS feels it is important to provide opportunities for students to be involved in educational support programs for literacy. During the school year they provide programs such as preschool story hour, after school enrichment, daily teen literacy programs, evening story times including hands-on developmental components, and specialty family literacy programs throughout the year.

The most important program all year is the summer reading program. It encompasses all citizens from wee readers to adult seniors and provides opportunities to read and learn all summer, as well as attend informative, educational, and fun programs that bring books to life and make reading and learning a pleasure. SCPLS feels it is so important to keep students reading all summer so that they are supporting the school system to help students avoid the summer slide so they don't lose valuable learning time when school resumes, having to re-teach those lost skills.

“Dollar General is excited to provide these organizations with funding to support literacy and education throughout the 44 states we serve,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO. “Providing these grants and supporting the communities we call home reflects our mission of Serving Others and it’s rewarding to see the impact these funds have.”

Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $135 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 8.6 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education.

For more information about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and its grant programs, visit www.dgliteracy.org.