Paper packaging company 'Stora Enso' to raise $2.5 million for UNICEF projects

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced today that it has struck a five-year agreement with Stora Enso, a paper, packaging and forest products company, to help it in its bid to extend basic education to the 121 million children around the world who cannot go to school.

Stora Enso, which becomes UNICEF's first global corporate partner in basic education, will contribute $250,000 in cash every year and match this with an equal amount from staff fundraising activities and in-kind gifts. The total value of the partnership is $2.5 million over the five years.

Thanking Stora Enso at a ceremony in London, UNICEF's Executive Director Carol Bellamy said the money would educate millions of children, especially girls. "By working with us to help the world's most disadvantaged children receive a basic education, Stora Enso is demonstrating the best kind of corporate responsibility," she said.

More than half of the 121 primary school-age children denied schooling are girls, according to UNICEF, which targets many of its education programmes towards helping them. Projects include the "25 by 2005" campaign, which aims to get as many girls as boys in school in 25 selected countries by next year.