Bellón, a Dominican company, has completed a corporate social responsibility initiative called "Cuadernos por un Mañana" (Notebooks for a Tomorrow), collecting roughly 1,800 used notebooks from customers and staff to be recycled into new school supplies for children in need.
The company ran the campaign in partnership with Cuadernos X Un Mañana (CXUM), a group focused on reusing school materials. The goal was to promote sustainability and support education in communities near Bellón's operations.
Customers and employees dropped off their used notebooks in 10 collection bins set up at eight branches in Santiago, San Francisco de Macorís, Mao, La Romana, Punta Cana and Baní.
Once collected, the notebooks were sorted so that usable pages could be salvaged for new notebooks while the remaining materials were sent for recycling. The effort produced 300 new notebooks, which were handed out to 55 children in the community of Los Meléndez.
Young volunteers took part
Twenty-five young people from the Líderes en Construcción (Leaders in Construction) program helped with the collection drive, giving them a direct experience in sustainability, volunteering and community service.
The volunteers were accompanied by Karla Faxas, founder of Cuadernos X Un Mañana, and Kaury Paulino, Bellón's Marketing and Communications Coordinator, along with the rest of the company's team.
How the sorting process worked
Pages still in good enough condition were recovered and used to make new notebooks, while the rest of the material was set aside for recycling. That process yielded the finished notebooks eventually delivered to the children.
The recipients ranged in age from about 4 to 17 and came from different school levels, receiving the materials to support their education.
Company and community representatives attend
The handover event brought together representatives from Bellón, including the company's general manager, Carlos Iglesias, along with staff from Marketing and Communications and from Human Resources and Employee Benefits and Services. Karla Faxas, founder of Cuadernos X Un Mañana, also attended.
The Los Meléndez community was represented by Julio Martínez, a regular contact for Bellón in the area, together with parents of the beneficiary children and other community members.
During the event, Martínez thanked Bellón for its support of the community over more than three years and stressed the importance of continuing initiatives that benefit local families.
