For the third year in a row, Lehigh Carbon Community College has received a grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to support LCCC’s adult literacy program.

According to a news release, the $8,000 grant will allow LCCC to continue providing adult literacy programming at the Donley Center in downtown Allentown.

Specifically, funds will provide English language learners with additional online resources to develop their reading, speaking and digital literacy skills, all of which are critical to obtaining employment.

LCCC’s adult literacy program helps nonnative speakers develop essential language skills so they can be successful in the community and workplace.

Classes are held two to four days per week in-person, through remote learning or in a hybrid format at LCCC’s downtown Allentown site.

LCCC received a grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation in 2023 to purchase an online learning platform to enhance instruction for the college’s English language learners.

More than 200 ESL students utilized the online learning tool in the first year with 93% of students accessing resources outside of class time to practice their language skills.

With the foundation’s additional support, LCCC will expand its usage of its online learning platform so more ESL students have the opportunity to develop their language proficiency and enhance their life skills, digital literacy, work readiness and civics education.

This local grant is a part of the Foundation’s $10.6 plus million donated to support adult, family and summer literacy programs in the 48 states in which Dollar General operates.

With these grants, the DGLF has helped more than 20 million individuals achieve their educational dreams since its inception in 1993.

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation supports organizations that increase access to educational programming, stimulate and enable innovation in the delivery of educational instruction and inspire a love of reading. Each year, DGLF awards funds to nonprofit organizations, schools and libraries within a 15-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center to support adult, family, summer and youth literacy programs.

For more information on LCCC’s literacy programs, contact Allison Ludlow, assistant director of literacy, aludlow@lccc.edu.