Diboll Pre-K 4 students show off some of their favorite books during a recent visit to the T.L.L. Temple Library. Georgia-Pacific has donated funds to the library for its annual summer reading program. (pictured from l to r) Justin Barkley, T.L.L. Temple Library Executive Director; Yana Ogletree, Georgia-Pacific Public Affairs Manager; Pat Aldred, Georgia-Pacific Vice President of Composite Panels; and Diboll Pre-K 4 students and educators.
Reading strengthens the mind—it develops imagination and creativity, and it is an essential skill that should be developed at a young age. Georgia-Pacific understands the importance of investing in reading programs for area youth. Recently the local building products manufacturer made a financial contribution to the T.L.L. Temple Library in Diboll for its summer reading extravaganza.
“We are anticipating a lot of visitors this summer,” said Justin Barkley, Executive Director of the T.L.L. Temple Library. “For the last couple of years COVID impacted our summer reading program, but this year we are back one hundred percent and have a lot of activities planned for readers of all ages.” According to Barkley, the funds will go towards materials that will be used for free weekly family activities, including craft time, STEM experiments, and more. Some of the activities planned include making bird feeders, an afternoon with East Texas animals visiting from the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and teen game nights.
Georgia-Pacific Public Affairs Manager, Yana Ogletree, says education is one of the key focus areas that the Georgia-Pacific Foundation supports financially. “At any age, there are so many benefits to reading. It sparks the imagination, builds vocabulary, and it can actually reduce stress. Reading is the cornerstone to everything we do,” said Ogletree. “Georgia-Pacific is proud to partner with the T.L.L. Temple Library to provide these opportunities for not only Diboll, but the surrounding communities the library serves.
This year Georgia-Pacific will again invest in a significant number of local projects that will improve the quality of life in local communities. Georgia-Pacific works with numerous outstanding community-based programs, service projects and disaster relief efforts, focusing its investment in four areas: education, environment, enrichment, and entrepreneurship.
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, cellulose, specialty fibers, building products and related chemicals. Our familiar consumer brands include Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Dixie®, enMotion®, Sparkle® and Vanity Fair®. 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 Georgia-Pacific Recycling subsidiary is among the world’s largest traders of paper, metal and plastics. The company operates more than 150 facilities and employs more than 30,000 people directly and creates approximately 89,000 jobs indirectly. For more information, visit: gp.com/about-us. For news, visit: gp.com/news.
