Bonnie Malek, store manager of the Canastota Dollar General Store, and Mindy Robiner-Kling, store training manager, of Dollar General recently visited the Canastota Public Library to present a check for $5,000 from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to the library.
Library Director Liz Metzger, who received the grant on behalf of the library, said the funds will be used in a number of ways. The library will use the money to help with funding programs at the library from early reader to adult literacy. Early literacy programs at the Canastota Public Library include Baby Lapsit and Sensory Play, which are for children from birth to age 24 months, Pre-K Storytime for children who are toddler-aged, as well as the library’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
School-aged literacy includes topical ‘grab-and-go’ literacy bags which have books on a variety of topics and STEM learning bags that can be borrowed. Teens are involved in STEM programming and other various sessions at the library. Adults and senior citizens take advantage of the library’s resources for learning English, learning to read, studying for the High School Equivalency Exam and borrowing Large Print Reading Materials.
“This kind donation will address the literacy needs of community members throughout their lives,” noted Metzger.
The Canastota Public Library will use this grant to help fund all of these literacy programs. Part of the money will help to fund the library’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library. With that program, local children ages birth to 5 years old, are mailed a book from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library each month so that they can build their own library at home. The library pays about $30 per child per year that is enrolled in the program. Currently, there are over 300 children in the Canastota area that participate! Additionally, part of the money will help to provide for the needs of our tutors who work with adult learners in the community who might be learning to read or who are preparing for the High School Equivalency tests.
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $160 million in grants to literacy organization that have helped more than 10 million individuals learn to read, prepare for the high school equivalency or to learn English. The Dollar General Literacy Foundation believes that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to receive a basic education and that it is never too late to begin learning!
The Canastota Public Library is located at 102 W. Center St., Canastota. The Dollar General Store in Canastota is located at 431 N. Peterboro St.