SALISBURY — The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded Communities In Schools of Rowan County a $2,000 grant to support youth literacy. This 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. Given at the beginning of the academic school year, these grants are aimed at supporting teachers, schools and organizations with resources to strengthen and enhance literacy instruction.

This will help CIS Rowan continue to provide our tutoring programs in the seven schools that it currently serves, which include: Hanford Dole, Isenberg, Koontz, North Rowan and Overton elementaries and Knox and North Rowan Middle School.

CIS is the nation’s leading dropout prevention organization. CIS places a dedicated school-based coordinator at each participating partner school, and in this pivotal role the coordinator works together with school staff to identify students at risk of not graduating and to implement strategies to address the educational needs of those students. CIS provides resources obtained through relationships with local business partners, churches, social service agencies and parent and volunteer organizations.

“By awarding these grants, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation is committed to making a meaningful impact in our local communities,” said Todd Vasos, 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 than $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 interested 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.