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Press Release: MAM Receives $10,000 Grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to Support ESL
Houston, Texas – This week, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded Memorial Assistance Ministries a $10,000 grant to support its English as a Second Language (ESL) Classes. 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.
MAM’s ESL program empowers non-native English speakers by helping them learn and improve their English language skills to fully participate in all aspects of their lives – their job, children’s health and education, and in the general public.
Available throughout the year at five locations, MAM’s ESL program offers at least 700 students the opportunity to learn the English language through interactive, participatory instruction with real-world application. All classes provided by MAM are taught by volunteer instructors and teachers’ assistants. With an emphasis on building vocabulary, classes devote lessons to a particular life skill that can be applied to daily life. Then MAM uses assessments to create midterms and final exams to assess mastery of these competencies and skills learned in class. The students’ scores on these tests and the feedback received from instructors on student class participation are used to determine student growth and success.
“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.”
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education. 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.
About Memorial Assistance Ministries
MAM was created by the local faith community in 1983 to provide basic needs to northwest Houston families. Their programming is viewed as giving a “hand up” rather than a “hand out,” and their philosophy of service is one of personalized support, believing that every client is capable, creative, and whole. Clients enter MAM’s doors seeking a particular service and are then referred and encouraged to look into additional programs that may help them continue to improve their lives. In 2016, 6,635 families were impacted by programs and services they received at MAM.
About the Dollar General Literacy Foundation
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education as part of the company’s mission of Serving Others for nearly 25 years. 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.
About Dollar General Corporation
Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for over 75 years through its mission of Serving Others. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, housewares and seasonal items at low everyday prices in convenient neighborhood locations. With 13,429 stores in 44 states as of March 3, 2017, Dollar General is among the largest discount retailers in the United States. In addition to high quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America's most-trusted brands such as Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Unilever, Kellogg's, General Mills, Nabisco, Hanes, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.