YALSA, ALSC expand youth literacy programs with grant from Dollar General Literacy Foundation

For Immediate Release
Tue, 10/25/2011 - 13:57

Contact: Stephanie Kuenn and Linda Mays
YALSA , ALSC

CHICAGO – The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded a $200,000 grant to two divisions of the American Library Association (ALA). The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC) will share the funding to support a variety of youth literacy programs through Everyone Reads @ your library.  This is the Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s second grant to the ALA to support this initiative.

“The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support ALSC and YALSA’s efforts to help children and teens thrive and grow through literacy,” said Denine Torr, director of community initiatives for Dollar General. “In a world where there are so many distractions vying for the attention of our children and teens, it’s exciting to see local and school libraries engaging youth in meaningful programs that can help develop them into leaders and prepare them for academic success.”

YALSA will use the funds to provide grants for teen summer reading programs, Teen Read Week™, promoting literacy to Spanish-speaking tweens and teens and create a mobile application. The grant will also fund a distribution of Teens’ Top Ten-nominated books to libraries in need.  In addition, YALSA will provide funds to 40 libraries to hire teen interns who will assist with the summer reading programs while developing critical jobs skills.  Applications for these opportunities will be posted throughout the year at www.ala.org/yalsa.

“YALSA is grateful to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for this second year of generous grant funding.  This grant will be a tremendous asset in YALSA’s efforts to enhance reading programs for teens in communities across the nation,” said Sarah Flowers, YALSA president.  “This funding means more teens will have the opportunity to participate in Teen Read Week and summer reading programs on the local and national level. On behalf of YALSA, I would like to thank the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for supporting literacy initiatives for teens.”

ALSC will use the grant money to redesign and reorganize the El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Día) website, extending Día’s reach to parents, caregivers and children with targeted online resources. The grant will allow ALSC to continue its efforts to encourage libraries to promote Día and multicultural family literacy.  ALSC will offer models of various scope and budget for libraries and community partners conducting Día programming. Día’s website may be found at www.ala.org/dia.

“With this grant, we expect to provide online resources for parents, caregivers and children, in addition to libraries,” said Mary Fellows, ALSC President. “ALSC is very grateful to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for helping us to provide resources for culturally relevant programs throughout the year.”

The Dia celebration was founded in 1996 by children’s book author Pat Mora, who proposed conceptually linking the existing Children’s Day with literacy. The founding partner of Dia is REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Literacy and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking. 

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audiobooks for teens.  For more information about YALSA or for the lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, visit www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists, or contact YALSA by phone, 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4390, or by email, yalsa@ala.org .

ALSC is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, visit www.ala.org/alsc.

About Dollar General
Dollar General is a leading discount retailer with more than 9,600 neighborhood stores in 36 states. Dollar General stores provide convenience and value to customers by offering consumable basic items such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids and cleaning supplies, as well as basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at everyday low prices. The company has a longstanding tradition of supporting literacy and education. Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $61.7 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 3.7 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy, a general education diploma or English proficiency. To learn more about Dollar General, visit www.dollargeneral.com.