Welcome to Millcraft’s Annual Check Presentation season! Each year for a decade now, Millcraft has conducted Buy & Give check presentation ceremonies, sharing annual group photos with smiling faces and larger-than-life checks – but the deep impact, meaningful hope, and community connection that’s present in every photo could be overlooked.
Seeing Millcraft’s Buy & Give check presentation photos, you may wonder: What’s up with these checks? What is the Buy & Give initiative? How is the Buy & Give check amount earned? Where does the donation money go? And what does this have to do with me, or paper?
More than simply paper sales, Millcraft’s Buy & Give program turns everyday purchases into extraordinary support for charities. Each check presentation highlights the meaningful difference this program makes – how Buy & Give paper becomes a vehicle for funding a nonprofit that works to cure childhood cancer. An instrument that provides food on weekends for school-aged children who might otherwise go hungry. A product that brings hope to families facing critical illness. A lifeline.
“I don’t look at it as copy paper, I look at it as a lifeline,” says Kim Holsclaw, Managing Director, Blessings in a Backpack - Louisville Chapter. “One might say it’s just copy paper, but to us, it’s changing lives.”
Meet Buy & Give: Tis’ Our 10th Anniversary
Established in 2015, Millcraft’s Buy & Give initiative empowers businesses to contribute to local charities with each purchase of Buy & Give brand office paper. A donation of $1 is made to the program for every carton of paper bought. Millcraft collaborates with Domtar, a global leader in fiber-based products, to promote Buy & Give multi-purpose paper across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Since its inception through Millcraft’s 2024 fiscal year, Buy & Give has generated more than $900,000 within Midwest communities served by select non-profit organizations in each of Millcraft’s geographic service areas, impacting thousands of people and families. Millcraft President and CEO Travis Mlakar says the initiative has come to define and strengthen the culture within Millcraft itself. "Buy & Give, conceived as a simple idea to leverage everyday copy paper for local charitable giving, has evolved into a cornerstone of Millcraft's mission – to meaningfully impact the communities in which we operate daily,” Mlakar shares.
In honor of the tenth anniversary of Millcraft’s Buy & Give program, the company is pleased to announce that Domtar has pledged to match Millcraft’s contributions, raising each carton’s donation from $1 to $2 in 2025 to further support our impactful community partners:
Buy & Give: Meet Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton
Discover an unexpected kinship, as Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton describes Millcraft Dayton as “a pillar in our community” and “Millcraft is part of our hospice family. Yes, we have a philanthropic relationship, and the people of Millcraft have also become family to us.” Read Buy & Give: Honoring Community with Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton and reveal which Millcraft team member is described as a champion, superstar, and, “His passion inspires us all.”
Our Dayton team hosted Ohio's Hospice of Dayton, presenting a check for $10,659! From left to right: Jarett, Jody, Jim (back), Evan (front), Randy, John "JT", and John.
Buy & Give: Meet Blessings in a Backpack
Connect further with the only national nonprofit that concentrates on feeding kids over weekends – and the 80,000 current and rising number of children in Louisville who are now eligible to receive nourishment from Blessings in a Backpack - Louisville Chapter – in Buy & Give: Nourishing the Future with Blessings in a Backpack. Explore how copy paper becomes part of nutritious, shelf-stable food made possible for families in homes that may not even have access to a stove.
Our Louisville team hosted Blessings In A Backpack, presenting a check for $3,742.00! Blessings in a Backpack is an amazing program that provides kids across America with food on the weekends when they otherwise would go hungry. From left to right: Candace, Kaela (Blessings In A Backpack), Jim, and Greg.
Buy & Give: Meet Prayers From Maria
Discover an extraordinary connection between paper, the prayers of one little girl, and the promise of two parents in Buy & Give: Growing Hope with Prayers From Maria. Dedicated to funding global research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for the deadliest childhood brain tumors known as gliomas, Prayers From Maria has acquired follow-on funding from the National Institute of Health and other organizations resulting in more than $12 million going to numerous promising research studies and the fight against childhood brain cancer.
Millcraft’s Cleveland team proudly presented the largest donation ever made by the team to the Prayers from Maria Foundation, contributing over $22,000 this year. This generous contribution reflects our team's dedication to supporting organizations making a meaningful impact in the lives of children battling cancer. From left to right: Mark, Josh, Brad, Paul, Megan, Ed, Jill, Aaron, Carol, Gina, and Jim.
Buy & Give: Meet Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana
See how Millcraft is part of bringing hope to children with critical illnesses through the Buy & Give Paper program. Uniting Millcraft employees and customers with families and communities, this partnership helps grant transformative wishes, creating joyful experiences for children and families that make a lasting impact on all involved. Connect further in Buy & Give: More Than a Partnership on Paper with Make-A-Wish®
Our Fort Wayne team hosted Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, presenting a check for $6,300! Each year, Millcraft aligns with a Make-A-Wish child, and this year we were honored to support Olivia and her family. Make-A-Wish OKI plays a vital role in empowering children battling critical illnesses. From left to right: Julie, Tom, Dick, Kamal (dog), Mattison, Jenny (Make-A-Wish representative), Olivia (Make-A-Wish child), Danielle (Olivia's mother), Richard (Olivia's father), Ellen, Jeremy, and Luke.
Our Indianapolis team hosted Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, presenting a check for $8,394! Each year, Millcraft aligns with WZPL's Make-A-Wish Request-A-Thon. Make-A-Wish OKI plays a vital role in empowering children battling critical illnesses. From left to right: Del, Nikki (DJ on WZPL), Scott, Dalton, Deanna, Mattison, Toni (DJ on WZPL), and Dave (DJ on WZPL).
Buy & Give: Meet C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital
Since 2015, Millcraft’s Buy & Give proceeds to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital total more than $100,000, given predominantly to Child and Family Life services – toward Family Center, Activity Centers, Paws for Patients Animal Therapy, Art and Music Therapy, and even Therapeutic Gaming, the latter drawing national attention for its innovation and success. Connect further in Buy & Give: Helping Families with C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
Our Detroit team hosted C. S. Mott Children's Hospital, presenting a check for $10,770! From left to right: Julie, Kelley, Evan, Gene Skidmore (Assistant Director, Corporate Partnerships for University of Michigan Health System), Jim, Frank, Jim, Chaiane, and Todd.
Buy & Give: Meet Easterseals Miracle League of North Oakland
More than 400 kids with special needs in the Greater Detroit Area can get out in the sunshine and enjoy playing the game of baseball – that’s what Miracle League of North Oakland makes possible. Discover how this Millcraft manager is “clutch”, or a significant player behind the relationship between Easterseals and Millcraft’s Buy & Give program in Buy & Give: Home Fields and High Fives with Easterseals Miracle League.
Our Detroit team hosted Easterseals Miracle League of North Oakland, presenting a check for $4,616! From left to right: Kelley, Nick, Jim, Evan, Julie, Frank, Todd, Jim, Chaiane, and Emily.
Buy & Give: Meet Nationwide Children’s Hospital
On Our Sleeves, the Movement for Children’s Mental Health powered by experts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital furthers its critical mission to provide kids and families in every community in America with access to free, evidence-informed resources necessary for breaking stigmas around children’s mental health and educating advocates. Find “How to Help Kids Manage Anxiety”, “Do’s and Don’ts When Talking About Mental Health” and more information in Buy & Give: Supporting Children’s Mental Health with On Our Sleeves® and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Our Columbus team hosted Nationwide Children's Hospital, presenting a check for $14,472.21! The Foundation is the fundraising arm of Nationwide Children’s. Their job – with our help – is to ensure much needed funds are available for innovative research, emerging trends in pediatric health, and to react to our ever-changing world. From left to right: Chris, Bob, Dan, Tyler, Cindy, Eric, Trisha, and John.
Buy & Give: Meet Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati
Honoring community through compassion, care, and copy paper, meet Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati. Discover how Habitat brings people together to build safe, affordable homes, provide financial literacy training, and revitalize neighborhoods—creating lasting opportunities for families achieve strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homeownership.
Buy & Give: Meet Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt
Millcraft is excited to introduce you to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee – Millcraft’s newest Buy & Give recipient. Look forward to meeting this charitable organization further into the new year.
Millcraft’s Nashville Division proudly presented a donation of $12,301 to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, a gift that represents our commitment to supporting children and families in need. During their visit, the team had the privilege of receiving a tour of the facility and hearing heartfelt stories from Stephanie Van Dyke (Director, Child Life and Volunteer Services), Kathy Ashworth (Associate Development Officer), and Jenny Alexander (Director, Corp & Foundation Relations), all from Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. Their stories helped the team understand the profound impact the hospital has, not only in providing medical care but also in supporting the emotional well-being of children and their families. From left to right: Ben (Millcraft), Phil (Millcraft), Conal (Millcraft), Craig (Millcraft), Ronie (Millcraft), Tricia (Millcraft), Mike (Millcraft), Kelsey (Millcraft), Rick (Millcraft), Kim (Millcraft), Scott (Millcraft), Stephanie Van Dyke (Director, Child Life and Volunteer Services at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt), and Steve (Millcraft).
‘Tis the Season for Check Presentation
The saying is that a photograph can convey a thousand stories – now you understand how these Buy & Give photos of smiling faces and larger-than-life-checks actually do. These photos, and Millcraft’s Check Presentation Season, include stories about meaningful impact and thousands of people in communities throughout the U.S. Thank you for being part of 10 years of Millcraft’s Buy & Give program, and for your part in making ordinary copy paper something quite extraordinary.
By: Jen W. O’Deay
To learn more about the Buy & Give program in your community, Just ask.