K-C has long-term partnerships with several charitable organizations that share our commitment to improving the health, hygiene and well-being of the world’s families.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America
We have supported the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) for more than 20 years. BGCA helps us fulfill our commitment to strengthen family relationships through their network of youth clubs, which aim to promote children’s development by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness and belonging.

This year, the Boys & Girls Club of Collin County, Texas, U.S. is one of 25 BGCA Clubs selected to receive a grant to become a pilot site for Family P.L.U.S. (Parents, Leading, Uniting, Serving). Family P.L.U.S. is a three-year, $7 million initiative sponsored solely by K-C that provides family-strengthening programs and resources at a local level to enable parents and other caregivers to spend quality time with their children. It also helps parents to increase their skills in areas such as career development, financial literacy and technology.

Our present and former Chairmen and CEOs, Tom Falk and Wayne Sanders, respectively, serve on the organization’s board of governors.

UNICEF
Since 2001, K-C has committed more than $6 million to UNICEF’s programs, providing life-saving supplies and healthcare, education and skills training to more than 350,000 children in 24 countries.

In 2007, K-C teamed up with UNICEF to help the tens of thousands of Brazilian children living in extreme poverty. K-C is giving almost $1 million over two years to fund a series of child-survival programs in Brazil and offer children the opportunity to survive, develop and learn.

Our support will help around 8,000 pre-school teachers and 9,000 healthcare agents provide improved care for vulnerable children in indigenous and quilombolas (descendants of former slaves) communities.

As a way to ensure that K-C’s donation meets Brazilian children’s most pressing needs, company officials accompanied UNICEF volunteers and staff on field visits to areas where UNICEF’s humanitarian efforts are already underway. They have written a blog and produced a video about their experience.

MedShare
K-C has extended its partnership with MedShare International, an Atlanta-based non-profit organization that collects surplus U.S. medical supplies and equipment for distribution to medical facilities in the developing world. Since 1999, K-C has supported MedShare’s mission by providing employee and retiree volunteers, donating medical supplies and equipment, and through financial contributions.

K-C is donating $250,000 over the five years to 2009 to sponsor shipments of medical supplies to hospitals in Latin America. This year, we also hosted MedShare’s annual fundraiser “MedSharing: A World of Art” at our Roswell, Georgia facility. This art auction netted $25,000 for future container shipments.

During 2007, our Latin American facilities donated equipment worth $1.8 million through MedShare, to hospitals in Colombia, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.

Europe
In the U.K., we continued our support for In Kind Direct, a charity which encourages manufacturers and retailers to donate high-quality surplus goods for distribution to good causes. K-C has supported the charity by donating toilet paper, diapers, baby wipes, facial tissues and hand towels for the past ten years. This year we donated 207 pallets of product worth a total of approximately $250,000.

In 2007, we were presented with the annual In Kind Direct Founder’s Award by the Prince of Wales, founder of the charity.

North America
In North America, K-C gave more than $1.5 million in college scholarships to high school students who are sons and daughters of K-C employees. This is part of the Bright Future Scholarship Program, which is designed to further the education of students with the potential to become the next generation of leaders in our communities.