Dollar General Literacy Foundation Continues Support for Young Families

Families First in Cabarrus County is grateful to receive a $10,000 grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to support Increasing Adult Literacy Within Young Families, a project designed to help parents strengthen their own skills while building stronger learning environments for their children.

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation supports literacy organizations serving learners of all ages in the communities Dollar General calls home. Its work is grounded in a simple belief: education creates hope, opens opportunities, and helps people move toward the futures they want for themselves and their families.

With this grant, Families First will serve 70 adults through English language acquisition, adult basic education, and GED or high school equivalency support. The project will connect adult instruction with ParentChild+, our home visiting program for families with young children. Rather than treating adult learning and early childhood development as separate needs, the project brings them together.

Participants will receive structured instruction in reading, writing, comprehension, and functional English that can be used in daily life, employment, health care, and communication with schools. Through weekly home visits and small group learning, parents will also practice reading, conversation, and language rich activities with their children. This approach helps adults build confidence as learners and as their children’s first teachers.

The project will operate over a 12 month period aligned with the 48 week ParentChild+ program cycle. Eight trained Learning Specialists, including native English and Spanish speakers, will provide culturally responsive instruction, coaching, assessments, and ongoing encouragement. Grant funds will help cover curriculum materials, program supplies, staff support, training, printing, technology, and professional development.

This support continues a relationship that has already made a meaningful difference for local families. In 2022, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded Families First a $10,000 family literacy grant supporting bilingual preschool, ESL, GED preparation, tutoring, and ParentChild+ home visits.

One parent shared that after enrolling her daughter in Families First’s bilingual preschool, she went on to earn her GED and obtain her citizenship. Her family’s conversations became centered on school, possibility, and dreams for the future.

That story reflects why adult and family literacy matter. When a parent gains the confidence to complete a form, communicate with a teacher, pursue a credential, or read with a child, the impact reaches beyond one person. It strengthens the entire family and creates opportunities that can continue across generations.

We are thankful to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for continuing to invest in Families First and in the parents working to build brighter futures for their children. Together, we are helping adults grow as learners, helping parents become stronger educational partners, and helping young children begin their own learning journeys surrounded by language, encouragement, and hope.