International Paper’s Project Saathi to benefit 48 school students

With this, the Hyderabad-based paper and pulp manufacturer, two manufacturing units in Andhra Pradesh, continued its commitment towards the local community development in Rajahmundry city and Kadiam village in East Godavari districts, as part of the corporate social responsibility programme in education, environment and engagement.

Employees, who are the donors, have made contributions through one-time payments as well as payroll deductions. These children, otherwise, were supporting their family to earn a living. These children are now studying at APPM Model School in Rajahmundry. Project Saathi is being run for the second year at this school.

Again, 24 meritorious students in their second year of post-school education were offered the IP India Foundation (IPIF) Scholarship, based on their performance in Class X state board examinations declared in May 2014.

The IPIF Scholarship is aimed at attracting and retaining a growing body of diverse, qualified, accomplished and ambitious students. IPIF Scholarship supports 24 students, from six districts of Andhra Pradesh, who, despite adversity, secured excellent marks in their exams.

Rampraveen Swaminathan, president, International Paper – India, and chairman and managing director, IP-APPM, handed over the cheques to the students. The event was attended by other senior officials of IP-APPM.

In another event, IP-APPM inaugurated a bus shelter at Kadiam Panchayat and a compound wall of MPP School in Bhaskararam Nagar in Kadiam. Based on the discussions with village panchayat and other stakeholders, IP Foundation identified that the village was in need of this infrastructure.

Swaminathan said, “Education and Community development are key pillars of our CSR initiatives. We are proud in promoting deserving students with the voluntary support of our employees. We hope that with the support of our employees, we will continue to enhance the standard of living of the local communities and provide support in creating more basic necessities for them.”

As part of its CSR programme, apart from running the APPM Model School in Rajahmundry for the last five decades, the company has also provided benches, drinking water, toilets, schools bags, shoes, etc to the schools in rural areas. IP-APPM has also provided over 4,500 solar lamps to the students of Class X to ensure that they prepare for board exams during electricity cuts in villages.

International Paper APPM Limited (IPAPPM) caters to both domestic and foreign markets with sales of Rs 113,494.91 lakh for the year ended March 31, 2015. IPAPPM produces writing, printing and copier papers at its two manufacturing units in Andhra Pradesh, which have a total paper production capacity of 240,000 metric tonnes per year. International Paper owns a majority shareholding interest in IPAPPM and the remaining shares are publicly traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange.

International Paper is a global leader in packaging and paper with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Its net sales for 2014 were $24 billion.