GP Cellulose in Memphis Partnered with the National Civil Rights Museum to Support the 3rd Annual Ruby Bridges Reading Festival
May 24, 2018
GP Cellulose in Memphis Partnered with the National Civil Rights Museum to Support the 3rd Annual Ruby Bridges Reading Festival
MEMPHIS, TN (May 24, 2018) – GP Cellulose in Memphis, a founding sponsor of the Ruby Bridges Reading Festival, is proud to have partnered with the National Civil Rights Museum to support this free public event for the third consecutive year. The festival aligns with GP’s four investment areas that we believe make the most impact in communities where we operate: education, environment, enrichment and entrepreneurship.
The company’s support of the Ruby Bridges Reading Festival, via the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, has grown to approximately $30,000 over three years.
“We are dedicated to creating value in the communities where we operate,” said Tommy Blaylock, Memphis Cellulose mill manager. “The Ruby Bridges Reading Festival supports workforce development by promoting literacy and access to educational resources in our community.”
According to the National Civil Rights Museum, the number of families and students from pre-K through elementary school participating in the festival has grown to 1,000 last year, and the museum anticipates increased participation this year.
“The vision for the festival is another way of bringing diverse groups of children and families together, not just sharing in the joy of reading but hopefully encouraging the start of their own home libraries,” said Ruby Bridges-Hall, founder and namesake of the annual reading festival. “I am grateful to Georgia-Pacific Cellulose in Memphis and the festival’s other partners for investing in our children.”
In addition to providing monetary investment to support organizations and events in Memphis, GP has invested in other ways that are helping to create long-term value such as donating the former Buckeye Technologies headquarters building to the United Way of the Mid-South following acquisition of the company in 2013 or reading to children at the festival.
About Georgia-Pacific
Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, office papers, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals. Our familiar consumer brands include Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, enMotion®, Sparkle®, Mardi Gras® and Vanity Fair®, as well as Dixie®. Georgia-Pacific has long been a leading supplier of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers. Its GP Harmon Recycling subsidiary is among the world largest recyclers of paper, metal and plastics. The company employs approximately 35,000 people directly and creates nearly 92,000 jobs indirectly. For more information, visit: gp.com.
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Contact:
James Barnes, Public Affairs Manager
james.barnes@gapac.com, (901) 320-8612
