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Grants Support Mississippi College Dyslexia Center


Dyslexia Center Interim Director Jan Hankins

Dollar General leaders believe learning to read is an essential investment that opens doors for people to advance up the economic ladder.

With that in mind, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded a grant of $3,800 to the Mississippi College Dyslexia Education and Evaluation Center.

The grant will be used to purchase two computers and software that will be used to provide assistance to students taking classes at the center on the Clinton campus.

In a report in late August, Dollar General Literacy Foundation leaders say they’ve awarded over $2 million in grants to 564 schools and non-profit organizations serving 315,000 youth in 38 states.

“We award the grants at the start of the school year so that the funds are in place to have an impact on reading education and support,” says Dollar General Chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling. “Reading is an essential building block to a bright future.”

Dollar General’s co-founder, J.L. Turner, struggled with reading at an early age and the company began its literacy foundation in 1993. In 2011, the organization’s foundation supplied the Mississippi College Dyslexia Center with a grant of $2,500 for supplies and instructional materials such as flash cards and workbooks.

The newest grant from Dollar General is a blessing, says Jan Hankins, the Dyslexia Center’s interim director.”I’m excited about it due to the technology coming into existence to help children advance,” she says. “To have access to this is phenomenal to me.” The computers and software will be purchased later this fall.

Recently, the Gannett Foundation supplied the Dyslexia Center with a $1,000 grant to help with scholarships for students and pay for their travel expenses.

Dyslexia Center grants advisor Jeff Sootheran, who’s a reference librarian at MC, and Hankins attended a reception with Gannett Foundation leaders at “The Clarion-Ledger” in Jackson. Last year, the Gannett Foundation contributed $2,500 used primarily for student scholarships.

Located at 107 Fairmont Street, the Dyslexia Center is serving children between the ages of 6 and 17, and working with a handful of adults between the ages of 25 and 55. The facility seeks to help children with reading problems and reduce dropouts.

On September 27, the Dyslexia Center will host a fall conference at the B.C. Rogers Student Center. The program is geared to parents and educators.

For more information, contact Jan Hankins at 601.925.7649.