Dollar General donates $50,000 and books to Tennessee school

Dollar General’s latest school tie-up put money, books and brand goodwill into Vena Stuart Elementary School in Gallatin, but it did not describe a new job for store associates. The company and Edgewell Personal Care said the school received a surprise $50,000 donation from DG’s Reading Revolution program, more than 700 books for Pre-K through fifth grade students, and giveaways for staff.

That matters for Middle Tennessee employees because these community moments shape how Dollar General is seen in towns where its stores are often among the most visible businesses on the street. But this announcement centered on the school, not on adding volunteer shifts, in-store donation drives or extra merchandising tasks for associates and district managers. The direct payoff was for the elementary school, its teachers and its students.

Dollar General said Reading Revolution has now awarded more than $5 million to 137 schools and literacy-focused nonprofit organizations since the program began in 2013. That gives the Gallatin stop a bigger context than a one-day handoff. The company has used the program to fold school donations into its local identity, especially in rural and suburban communities where customers often know store workers personally and expect the chain to show up for community events.

The Edgewell connection is not new. The two companies first joined forces in 2022 through the annual Emerging Artist Contest with the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, a project meant to elevate creative expression and encourage teachers to keep supporting literacy and the arts. In the first contest, Stephanie Saunders won a $10,000 tuition scholarship, and her design was featured on Schick Intuition packaging at Dollar General stores. Edgewell also made a $50,000 donation to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

A second annual contest followed in 2024, with middle and high school art teachers eligible and submissions accepted through June 3 of that year. The Gallatin donation added another chapter to that relationship, this time with books for students, a book for each child to keep and DG gift cards for teachers and staff.

For Dollar General workers, the story is mostly about the company’s public face. The school got the grant and the books; the stores did not get a new operating requirement. In a business where understaffing, thin payrolls and constant pressure are the daily reality, that distinction is worth noting.