NEMCC Adult Education receives substantial grant from The Dollar General Literacy Foundation

by Michael H. Miller

BOONEVILLE, Miss. -- (10/20/2023) — Northeast Mississippi Community College's award-winning Adult Education Department has received a substantial grant to support adult literacy in the college's five-county service area - Alcorn, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo and Union counties.

As part of The Dollar General Literacy Foundation's overall support of $10.5 million for adult literacy across the country, the Northeast Adult Education Department received $10,000 to support summer, family, and adult literacy programs.

Dollar General Literacy Foundation's $10.5 million gift to adult education across the country represented the organization's largest one-day grant donation in its 29-year history.

"We are honored to be selected as a recipient of this grant from The Dollar General Literacy Foundation," said Northeast director of adult education, Laurie Kesler. "This money will help continue our mission to improve reading levels and overall educational attainment in Northeast's service area, and we certainly hope that this funding will assist in increasing enrollment and better educating area students."

Northeast's Adult Education focuses on enabling every adult learner in the college's service area to acquire the necessary basic skills - reading, writing, computation, speaking, and listening - to compete successfully in today's workplace, strengthen family foundations, and exercise full citizenship.

"For nearly 30 years, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has been proud to invest in literacy and education programs in our hometown communities," said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. "We hope these funds will have a meaningful impact on students and teachers across the country and look forward to seeing the positive impact they have on learners."

Open to All Adult Learners

Northeast's Adult Education program is open to anyone aged 16 or older, who is not currently enrolled in a public or private school, and all classes are offered at no cost with the necessary instructional materials provided. The program offers a variety of instructional methods, including individualized instruction, small-group learning, and computer-based learning, ensuring that each student's unique needs are met.

Contacting Northeast's Adult Education

For more information about the Adult Education Department at Northeast or to inquire about how to earn a high school equivalency diploma, contact the Northeast Adult Education Department at 662-720-7184.

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. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded more than $216 million in grants, helping more than 15.4 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy, a general education diploma or English proficiency. Cal Turner, Jr. founded the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to honor his grandfather and Dollar General's co-founder, J.L. Turner, who was functionally illiterate having dropped out of school in the third grade to support his family. The Foundation aims to provide support to schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations that seek to improve adult, summer, youth and family literacy initiatives. To learn more about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, visit www.dgliteracy.org.