Fans are invited to give an assist during the #Fight4Literacy events to support literacy efforts in the Panhandle

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | In Florida, nearly 30% of fourth-grade students cannot read at even a basic level. Less than 38% are considered proficient. These statistics are critical. Illiteracy costs our nation's health care system hundreds of billions of dollars per year and indicates future rates of poverty and crime. But, in partnership with Coaching for Literacy, three local basketball teams – Florida A&M men's, Florida A&M women's and Florida State University men's – hope to change those statistics in the Panhandle through four #Fight4Literacy events presented by International Paper, beginning with a FAMU men's and women's #Fight4Literacy game double-header versus Southern University on Jan. 8.

"#Fight4Literacy presented by International Paper is truly a movement," said Carleen O'Reilly, executive director of Coaching for Literacy. "We know how crucial it is for young kids to learn to read, and active, committed partners like Florida A&M, Florida State, ELC of the Big Bend and ELC of Escambia are an important piece of that puzzle. But anyone can fight for literacy, and this partnership really helps bring the issue front and center in the Panhandle community and among both schools' basketball fans. We hope it creates a long-term impact." 

In addition to FAMU's participation – an inaugural event for the women's team and the second year for the men's – Florida State University will host its eighth event (on a yet to be determined date) as a longtime Coaching for Literacy partner. Between the games during Tallahassee's #Fight4Literacy Week, fans of both teams and Tallahassee residents interested in supporting Panhandle literacy efforts can help raise funds by supporting participating businesses. 

During each team's #Fight4Literacy game, FAMU's Coach Robert McCullum and Coach Shalon Pillow and FSU's Coach Hamilton, along with their staffs, will wear green lapel pins and wristbands to raise awareness for literacy. Fans are invited to make a donation – through the FAMU men's and women's teams – in support of local programs. One hundred percent of funds generated at the game will stay in the Panhandle through grant partnerships with the Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend and the Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County. Since 2013, Coaching for Literacy has granted more than $730,000 to local literacy partners to fund initiatives like mentoring, after-school programs and providing age-appropriate books for children. 
            
As the presenting partner of the #Fight4Literacy, International Paper has guaranteed a minimum donation of $10,000 in Tallahassee. The company will also match local donations up to $5,000.  Last year, Panhandle literacy partners benefitted from $19,930 raised through local #Fight4Literacy events.
           
A final fundraising total will be announced at the end of the season, when grants will be delivered to Coaching for Literacy's local partners. For more information about Coaching for Literacy or the #Fight4Literacy, visit coachingforliteracy.org. 
 
About International Paper
International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a leading global producer of renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products with manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, North Africa and Europe. We produce packaging products that protect and promote goods, and enable worldwide commerce, and pulp for diapers, tissue and other personal hygiene products that promote health and wellness. We are headquartered in Memphis, Tenn. and employ approximately 38,000 colleagues. Net sales for 2020 were $21 billion*. In Russia, the Company has a 50/50 joint venture, Ilim Group, the country's largest integrated manufacturer of pulp and paper and its largest foreign-domestic alliance in the forestry products sector. For more information about International Paper, our products and global citizenship efforts, please visit internationalpaper.com.
 
*Inclusive of our former pulp and paper mill in Kwidzyn, Poland, which was sold on August 6, 2021, and our former global papers business, which became a standalone, publicly traded company on October 1, 2021.
 
About Coaching for Literacy
Founded in 2013 by two high school students, Coaching for Literacy aims to raise awareness of and support solutions to the widespread problem of illiteracy. Using the power and influence of sports, the organization partners with teams across the country to host #Fight4Literacy games, which raise funds for grants to literacy-focused programs in their communities. Coaching for Literacy operates on the core belief that literacy is a fundamental right of every individual. For more information, visit CoachingforLiteracy.org.
 

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