Reading is fundamental at Dollar General - DISC

Discount Store News, August 17, 1992 by Mary Ellen Kelly

Dollar General Corp.'s unwavering commitment to promoting education among residents of its many impoverished market areas in Nashville, Ky.--both financially and in terms of the literacy of the population--has earned this dollar discount store operator its second consecutive DISC award among retailers with sales of between $500 million and less than $1 billion.

In this DISC entry to DSN, Dollar General chairman, president and chief executive officer, Cal Turner Jr. explained what motivates the chain to tirelessly pursue the elimination of illiteracy in the retailer's market area: "As the |neighborhood' store, we are inspired to be a natural part of the fabric of the communities we serve. We understand that our customers count on us for more than just being in stock in bleach and bath towels. They look to us to help them as only true neighbors can--to help them developed to their fullest potential so they can realize a richness of life they most certainly deserve."

And Dollar General's founding family, the Turner's, knew all too well about both the scarcity and importance of education in their part of the country. As the phrase that appears on the cover of The Dollar General GED and Learn-to-Read Information Program leaflet reveals, "The man who started Dollar General only had a third grade education." Family-run Dollar General has had a personal experience of how the world can unfold for a person who has been rescued from the life-limiting problem of illiteracy.

Getting the Word Out

The Dollar General GED/-Learn-to-Read program has served more than 23,500 individuals, to date, the company reported. These people were reached through brochures placed in every one of Dollar General Store's 1,522 locations to help connect literacy providers with potential students, and through Dollar General's annual radio campaigns.

And Dollar General does more than inform its shoppers about how to get an education; it is also building the base of people available to teach the academically underprivileged in its market area.

The chain conducts the Dollar General Summer Internship in Literacy. The program involves the hiring of college students by Dollar General to work in community literacy organizations.

The drive to stamp out illiteracy is further addressed by Dollar General's involvement in NashvilleREAD, created by the Middle Tennessee United Way's Task Force on Literacy--which is chaired by Cal Turner, Jr. A database was created by NashvilleREAD, available to all literacy agencies, to facilitate referrals and networking. It is also designed to prevent potential students from unintentionally "slipping through the cracks," and missing the opportunity of education.

An annual commitment by Dollar General of $25,000, coupled with headquarter-level participation, is a crucial element to the success of NashvilleREAD. More recently, Dollar General furthered its commitment by underwriting a substantial portion of the executive director's salary and retirement for use in recruiting this leadership.

Dollar General's executive offices are in Nashville and its buying offices are in nearby Scottsville, Ky., keeping buyers in touch with the small town consumer for whom they are supplying merchandise. To aid the Scottsville community, Dollar General helped to establish and promote the Lindsey Wilson Evening College in that town. The college's main campus is located in Columbia, Ky., but the Scottsville location will make Dollar General's "home community" a convenient place to learn.

Last year, Dollar General was reorganized by the Pencil Foundation, coordinator of the Adopt-A-School program with a Points of Excellence award for outstanding commitment to its support of the Hattie Cotton Elementary School. Dollar General adopted this metropolitan Nashville school, a school in which nearly 75% of its students are considered to be "at risk".

Dollar General has also been a major corporate sponsor of the National Easter Seals Society for the past two years. Vendor support helped to generate $250,000, the majority of which was distributed among states with Dollar General stores.

A brochure titled, "Are You Listening . . .?" was also the by-product of involvement with Easter Seals. It had become apparent that some parents were unable to detect problems in their child's early development. To facilitate early detection, the brochure, available from Dollar General stores, supplies parents with a list that establishes developmental benchmarks, suggesting that a child may need special help if unable to do, see, hear, say or understand certain things by a set age.

The brochure also lists places to contact if the child's abilities are lacking, including Easter Seals headquarters in Chicago.

Among the other organizations benefited by charitable contributions from Dollar General during 1991 included Hands On Nashville Volunteer Coalition, Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee and of South Central Kentucky, Kentucky Boy Scouts/Audubon Council, March of Dimes Reading Champions Program, Nashville Converence on Christians and Jews, American Management Scholarship Program, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville Symphony (for performance before Allen County, Kentucky school children) and the Nashville Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).