Boise Aids In Hurricane Katrina Relief by Donating Paper to 16 Mississippi School Districts; Additional Paper Supplies to be Distributed to Underprivileged Schools Throughout the Country.
DAYTON, Ohio -- Boise Paper today announced that it has donated 319 tons of paper to the School, Home & Office Products Association (SHOPA) Kids in Need Foundation. The primary thrust behind this donation was to provide much needed print and copy paper to 16 school districts in Mississippi that were hit by Hurricane Katrina. In addition, a portion of the paper was sent to the Foundation's national network of 21 resource centers to be used in underprivileged school districts.
The U.S. Department of Education originally informed the SHOPA Kids in Need Foundation about the critical paper shortage. In response, the Foundation sought potential paper donations that could be made to school districts affected by Hurricane Katrina. The SHOPA Kids in Need Foundation contacted major office supply superstores throughout the country to join in the aid. OfficeMax(R), a leading distributor of office products and services, and a longtime customer of Boise Paper, brought the opportunity to the paper manufacturer's attention with an initial request of 10 tons of paper for the 16 school districts in Mississippi. Boise Paper, seeing a chance to help schools throughout the country, stepped up the donation to the current level of 319 tons (109,300 reams). To date, Boise Paper and OfficeMax are the first companies to respond to the Foundation's request.
"With the devastation that occurred in the Gulf Region due to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, many schools and children have been affected in a terrible way," said Kristine Cohn, U.S. Department of Education, regional secretary, who led the department's "matchmaking" efforts between donors and schools impacted by the hurricanes. "However, this tremendous effort will go a long way to helping schools in Mississippi get back on track and provide students with the resources that they need to grow and learn."
"Boise's ability to come through with a donation of this size at the drop of a hat is remarkable," said Steve Rubenstein, SHOPA Kids in Need Foundation director of development. "We are so pleased to be able to work with companies such as Boise Paper and OfficeMax to provide schools in need with critical classroom materials."
"When we received the request from SHOPA Kids in Need Foundation, we quickly assessed our supplier contacts and recognized that Boise Paper would be in a good position to provide materials that would be in high demand by students in the Mississippi area," said Ryan Vero, OfficeMax Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer. "The Foundation has been an excellent partner in our efforts to support education and we are very pleased that we could play a role in supporting the children impacted by Hurricane Katrina."
