Take a book, leave a book. A free book exchange is now near the playground of Walter Elisha Park in Fort Mill, South Carolina, where Domtar has partnered with the town to install a Little Free Library. The park is a little more than a mile from Domtar’s United States corporate headquarters.
The Little Free Library organization was founded in 2009 to help promote literacy and the love of reading. By encouraging readers to build free book exchanges in their communities, Little Free Library founders Todd Bol and Rick Brooks hope to enhance a sense of community and to share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations. The book exchange program aligns with Domtar’s Powerful Pages initiative, which engages with organizations and schools to promote literacy and equip students for learning.
“Promoting education and emphasizing literacy is part of Domtar’s commitment to support sustainable development of our communities, and we are happy to be able to bring this resource to Fort Mill,” said Jan Martin, senior manager of Pulp and Paper business communications. “We are also excited to fill the library with brand-new, popular books that are all printed on Domtar paper.”
Brown Simpson, Fort Mills Park and Recreation director, center, was joined by Domtar colleagues, from left to right, Jan Martin, Jamese Miranda, Lahny Manning, Allison Hibbard, Kevin Fritze and Dan Persica at the opening of the Little Free Library at Walter Elisha Park in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
“This donation also lends itself to Domtar’s ongoing sustainability efforts,” said Dan Persica, Domtar’s sustainability communication manager. “Libraries are inherently sustainable. The concept that you can borrow a book, learn something new from it, then return the book to have someone else in the community begin the process anew is sustainable from both an environmental and social perspective.”
In addition, each of the new titles in the book exchange library included information about the Forest Academy, an interactive website where children can learn about trees and the forest. The books also contained a bookmark publicizing Domtar’s PAPERbecause campaign, which promotes the value of paper in the world today.
