They are very focused on literacy IS economic development. They have done great things and with little funding from any governmental agency. If LCLC is successful, there would be less need for other outreach programs.
Review from Guidestar
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With a handful of people that organization helps prisoners gain their GEDs, supports english as a second language and has impacted over 70% of the county giving books monthly to young children at no cost to the families; in just three years. What can happen in the next 3 years should be quite exciting!
Our community enjoys the benefits associated with its natural beauty and history: the site of the first major gold rush, in the Appalachian mountains, and a short drive to Atlanta. We have a variety of cultures here, based on tradition and on newer folks moving in. To sustain the values we believe in, everyone must be empowered, and literacy is key to that effort. The Lumpkin County Literacy Coalition works to increase literacy at all age levels, but it's our programs with our youth that have the most power because they help "inoculate" the next generation against the persistent poverty that 50% of our school-aged children live in. Our youth programs include the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and a Dictionary/Thesaurus program for 3rd/8th graders.
Our volunteers, including Board members and outstanding program committee members such as the Spelling BEE Planning Group, help put literacy in the forefront of this community. Helping youth get the GED diploma, giving dictionaries to third graders, and mailing age-appropriate books from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to pre-schoolers every month without cost to the family would never happen without our excellent large cadre of volunteers.