Dimmick Library given a grant from Verizon

PRNewswire A dollar a month may not seem like much, but it can go a long way to improving literacy skills in local communities across Pennsylvania while also giving people the opportunity to succeed.

Thanks to the generosity of Verizon's Pennsylvania landline customers who participated in the company's Check Into Literacy program, 45 nonprofit organizations throughout the state have received more than $235,000 in grants to support their literacy programs.

Among them is the Dimmick Memorial Library in Jim Thorpe, which received $5,000.

"This program is a classic example of a little bit going a long way to address a significant challenge for our society," said Gale Y. Given, president of Verizon Pennsylvania. "Verizon customers who participated in the program have shown how much they care about literacy and our communities, and we applaud them for it."

The program allows Verizon landline phone customers to support literacy by checking a box on their monthly phone bills to make a $1 tax-deductible donation to promote literacy. Verizon then distributes these donations to local literacy organizations that serve the individual states the customers live in.

Contributions from Pennsylvania residents are part of more than $1.1 million given to literacy organizations throughout the country through the Check Into Literacy program.

Other area grant recipients are:

Literacy Council for Schuylkill County, Pottsville - $5,000

Pocono Services for Family & Children, Stroudsburg - $2,500

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.

In 2008, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $68 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $26 million in combined contributions to nonprofits.