The United Nations recognizes International Volunteer Day annually on Dec. 5 to highlight the power of volunteering to drive positive change around the world. At Domtar, a spirit of caring is part of how we operate every day, and it’s lived out by our employee volunteers.
Domtar employee volunteers collectively contribute hundreds of hours annually to improve literacy, sustainability, and health and wellness through our EarthChoice Ambassador program and other company-sponsored activities.
We also support the communities where we operate through product donations and charitable giving, such as the $1K Your Way program and other financial investments.
Community engagement is a priority of our sustainability agenda for 2030. Read on for a few examples of how Domtar employee volunteers have engaged with their communities this year.
Volunteers Support Literacy and Academic Achievement
Domtar has partnered with First Book, a national organization, for many years to provide brand-new books to teachers and schools through our Powerful Pages initiative.
In addition to donations, we organize volunteer activities with nonprofits such as Classroom Central in Charlotte, N.C., so we can provide hands-on support. We have been supporting Classroom Central since its inception more than 20 years ago.
On Dec. 13-14, 50 employee volunteers will be onsite at Classroom Central for a two-day Truck of Books distribution event. This is the second such event this year.
These events allow teachers from Mecklenburg (N.C.) and York (S.C.) counties to “shop” for free books for their classrooms and students. More than 31,000 new books will be up for grabs next week, with each teacher allowed to select up to 150 books for their classroom. Books are provided through our partnership with First Book.
“We’re one of Classroom Central’s original supporting organizations, and we love helping them close the academic achievement gap by providing classroom and school supplies like books, free of charge, to students most in need in our communities,” says Jan Martin, director of communications and public affairs at Domtar.
In addition to the Truck of Books events, Domtar employee volunteers joined forces with other Charlotte-area companies in August to fill 20,000 backpacks with school supplies for area students.
Hawesville Mill and Owensboro Converting Donate Paper to Schools After Flooding
Domtar’s Hawesville Mill and Owensboro Converting Center, located within 30 miles of each other in northwestern Kentucky, partnered to donate three pallets of Domtar Lettermark® copy paper to eastern Kentucky school districts that were devastated by flooding in July.
Employees Kevin Tudor, Ouida Burch and Kraton Dodson led the efforts and volunteered their time to orchestrate pickup, delivery and distribution of the paper to school districts in Knox, Perry and Breathitt counties with the support of one of our chip suppliers in Lilly, Kentucky.
Windsor Mill EarthChoice Ambassadors Partner with Saint-Philippe Primary School
Our Windsor Mill in Quebec established a long-term partnership with Saint-Philippe Primary School a few years ago through our EarthChoice Ambassadors program.
Domtar employee volunteers have visited the school many times over the past few years to help modernize the school’s park, develop the school’s woodland area, beautify the school’s fruit bushes, plant trees and install wooden benches to make the grounds more enjoyable.
In November, the school held a grand opening event to celebrate the new outdoor space.
Community Engagement Is a Priority
Earlier this year, Domtar announced six sustainability priorities for 2030, one of which is community engagement.
Our community investment goals include the continuation of our $1K Your Way program to support local investment, and two new goals: doubling the number of volunteer hours per employee at company-sponsored events and contributing about USD$3 million each year from our corporate community investment budget to eligible programs in the communities where we operate.
“Caring is at the heart of Domtar’s core values,” says Martin. “Giving back to our local communities, financially and through lending a helping hand, is part of the Domtar culture, and we appreciate all of our Domtar employee volunteers.”
Stay up to date on Domtar’s community investment highlights by checking out our #FeelGoodFriday and Domtar in :60 posts on social media.
