Dollar General has partnered with Perdido Elementary/Middle School to combat illiteracy, and donated $5,000 to supply literature in the new “Raiders’ Reading Room.”

The school is converting a portion of the middle school’s teachers’ lounge into the new “Raiders’ Reading Room” which will be a mini-library where students will have closer access to literature, periodicals, current magazine publications and reference materials.

Perdido School consists of grades Pre-K through eighth grade, which makes adequately locating and furnishing a library for both the middle and elementary school difficult.

The students in grades five through eight excitedly participated in a survey, making requests for such items as magazines about hunting, ATVs, cars, classic literature like “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and “Where the Red Fern Grows,” and simply having access closer at hand for reference materials to help them with research.

The Dollar General chain became actively involved in assisting nonprofit organizations such as school in their quest to improve the literacy rate among all of their students.

It began with the vision of Dollar General’s co-founder, J.L. Turner, who was functionally illiterate. Being the oldest son in the family, J.L. had to drop out of school in the third grade to take care of the family farm when his father passed away. However, he always recognized the importance of education and worked hard to instill that in others.

Today, the commitment to literacy by Dollar General remains strong because the need for literacy in our nation remains great.

Imagine the challenges you would face if you could not read the directions on your child’s medicine bottle, road signs, a menu or a job application.

For more than 30 million adults in the United States, this is a reality. Through financial grants and literacy referrals, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has helped more than 2.5 million individuals increase their employability, read to their child for the first time, pass the GED, or learn to read and speak the English Language.

When you are shopping in your local Dollar General store, and you are asked if you would like to donate your change to literacy, you can be certain that your donation is going to a wonderful cause.