Powerful Pages Puts Books in the Hands of Children

Books hold a special place in our hearts, in our business and, we believe, in children’s hands.

That is why Domtar created its Powerful Pages program—to promote literacy by providing books to children who may not otherwise have access to a rich library of stories.

This takes many forms, usually through partnerships with other nonprofits that are widely recognized for their dedication to literacy. Also in 2016, many of our Pulp and Paper division vendors joined us in a special initiative focused on elementary schools.

Together we are providing thousands of children the opportunity to learn new things, travel to new places, and meet new people through the pages of a book.

Domtar colleagues have been visiting local schools every year since 2012 to read with students and distribute free books through our partnership with First Book. In that time, Domtar’s financial donations have helped to provide over 200,000 brand-new books to children from low-income families in schools in Domtar communities.

With our vendor partners and the Carson Scholars Fund, we established 10 new Ben Carson Reading Rooms in elementary schools in communities where we operate. At each school, Domtar colleagues worked on the rooms, building shelves, painting walls, sorting books and more.

At one reading room grand opening, at Old Pointe Elementary in Rock Hill, South Carolina, students and teachers marveled when they saw the bright blue walls with an ocean theme and shelves filled with new books. Inspirational posters offered encouragement, and small sofas and bean-bag chairs invited kids to sit for a story.

“This offers students a relaxing, enjoyable place for independent reading,” said Sherry Moore, a literacy coach at the school. “They read during the school day, but often it’s not what they choose. Here they can pick their own story and dive in.”

In addition to books and reading, we also put paper in their classrooms and other supplies in their backpacks throughout the year—directly through employee efforts and through donations to the Office Depot Foundation Backpack Program.                                         

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Domtar’s 2017 Sustainability Report details the company’s endeavor to take a longer term view of creating and preserving value for our shareholders, customers, employees and communities.  For more inspiring stories about Domtar's sustainability efforts, visit the Domtar Newsroom. To view the full 2017 Sustainability Report click here.