Building a Culture of Reading: Denine Torr and Alicia Levi on Literacy Access

So Deneen, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has had such a rich history of investing in literacy.

Can you take us back to the beginning? Why did Dollar General choose literacy as an area of focus, and then why, over the years, has that commitment endured?

endured?Oh, well, Dollar General's co-founder, J.L. Turner, was functionally illiterate.

He only had a third-grade education.

He had to drop out of school as the oldest son in the family to take care of the family farm and take care of the family at that time.

And we realize, you know, that was...

And he went on to start Dollar General Cor- the company at the end of the Great Depression because he saw his neighbors go without, and he's like, he wanted to do something about it, make sure their basic needs were met.

And the beauty of how that ties to where we are as a Dollar General Literacy Foundation is that the family saw, you know, how life can be a little bit more challenging if you don't know how to read or if you don't have that high school diploma or equivalent, or you don't know the English language.

And they're like, "Let's do something about that," so that the next individual, the next J.L. Turner, who's got this brilliant idea and beautiful heart, has the opportunity to go and experience the same level of success that he did.

And that starts with a great education and the ability to read.

And so the Dollar General Literacy Foundation was established in his honor 33 years ago.

So it's not a charity of the month, it's part of who we are, truly.

And we've been doing this, like I said, over 33 years, $292 million, and 25 million individuals who've been impacted by the programs that we've funded.

So, um, very grateful for all the teachers, the volunteers, the tutors that are out there that are doing great work and helping bring life and possibility to the dollars that we've invested.

It's incredible.

And Alicia, I'll let you jump in because I know Dollar General has been a funder for Reading is Fundamental.

They've supported us over, over the years, so I'd love to hear your perspective as well.

Well, look, I...

It's, it's, you know, I fundamentally believe in collective impact.

There's no one person, there's no one solution.

I think that communities, when you invest in communities, you invest in the people in communities, that's when you can really build sustained impact.

So over 30 years, right, of a commitment from the Dollar General Foundation and Literacy, we've partnered...

Reading is Fundamental has partnered with Dollar General for over 20 years, right? Because our work is really designed to build capacity, to invest in communities so that, that, that sustainable impact can, can be seen through the power of reading.

And, and so our partnership is vital because we come together, we bring our strengths, and ultimately, we invest in communities.

The communities that Dollar General serves are the communities that we serve.

So Deneen, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has had such a rich history of investing in literacy.

Can you take us back to the beginning? Why did Dollar General choose literacy as an area of focus, and then why, over the years, has that commitment endured?

endured?Oh, well, Dollar General's co-founder, J.L. Turner, was functionally illiterate.

He only had a third-grade education.

He had to drop out of school as the oldest son in the family to take care of the family farm and take care of the family at that time.

And we realize, you know, that was...

And he went on to start Dollar General Cor- the company at the end of the Great Depression because he saw his neighbors go without, and he's like, he wanted to do something about it, make sure their basic needs were met.

And the beauty of how that ties to where we are as a Dollar General Literacy Foundation is that the family saw, you know, how life can be a little bit more challenging if you don't know how to read or if you don't have that high school diploma or equivalent, or you don't know the English language.

And they're like, "Let's do something about that," so that the next individual, the next J.L. Turner, who's got this brilliant idea and beautiful heart, has the opportunity to go and experience the same level of success that he did.

And that starts with a great education and the ability to read.

And so the Dollar General Literacy Foundation was established in his honor 33 years ago.

So it's not a charity of the month, it's part of who we are, truly.

And we've been doing this, like I said, over 33 years, $292 million, and 25 million individuals who've been impacted by the programs that we've funded.

So, um, very grateful for all the teachers, the volunteers, the tutors that are out there that are doing great work and helping bring life and possibility to the dollars that we've invested.

It's incredible.

And Alicia, I'll let you jump in because I know Dollar General has been a funder for Reading is Fundamental.

They've supported us over, over the years, so I'd love to hear your perspective as well.

Well, look, I...

It's, it's, you know, I fundamentally believe in collective impact.

There's no one person, there's no one solution.

I think that communities, when you invest in communities, you invest in the people in communities, that's when you can really build sustained impact.

So over 30 years, right, of a commitment from the Dollar General Foundation and Literacy, we've partnered...

Reading is Fundamental has partnered with Dollar General for over 20 years, right? Because our work is really designed to build capacity, to invest in communities so that, that, that sustainable impact can, can be seen through the power of reading.

And, and so our partnership is vital because we come together, we bring our strengths, and ultimately, we invest in communities.

The communities that Dollar General serves are the communities that we serve.