Our Social Commitment

Our Social Commitment

We may draw inspiration from world art and culture – but to us, being a Global Citizen means much more than this. We aim to be innovative and useful, not just in the products we bring to you, but in the way we exist in the world.

Every year, Paperblanks and its publisher, Hartley & Marks, contributes to a diverse range of social programs and agencies that each, in their own way, help improve our planet.

We believe that in order to nourish creativity, yours and ours, we must also be socially and environmentally responsible citizens. Therefore, we emphasize projects and organizations that produce tangible results at the community level, particularly in the areas of education, literacy, health and social services. In addition to financial support, we donate thousands of journals to dozens of causes and groups every year.

Literacy & Education

    Nepal Library Foundation

    The Nepal Library Foundation (NLF) is a non-profit organisation created to promoted literacy in Nepal. By supporting the development of a national library system, the NLF’s goal is to increase literacy in a country with one of the lowest literary rates in the world. The Nepal Library Foundation has a positive mandate to help people access and use information to their benefit, thereby giving them the tools to become part of a skilled labour workforce. We’ve supported the NLF for over 5 years by supplying them with donations of our journals, all of which have provided a significant portion of their fundraising efforts.

    Discover more about The Nepal Library Foundation by reading their full story on our blog.

    WriteGirl

    Through one-on-one mentoring and creative writing workshops, WriteGirl encourages girls to develop their creative talents in the literary arts. The journals we donate to WriteGirl are used in their workshops and mentoring sessions, which provide young women with the chance to explore poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, songwriting, journalism, screenwriting, playwriting, persuasive writing, journal writing, editing and more. One hundred percent of WriteGirl’s participants have entered college, many on full or partial scholarships - proof to us of the power of the written word.

    Discover more about WriteGirl by reading their full story on our blog.

Health & Social Services

    SEVA Canada

    With a cataract surgery costing $50 or less, blindness is a preventable disease. It is also one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce poverty. We joined forces with SEVA Canada in 2007 in a partnership designed to help SEVA raise funds to support their work in eye-camps throughout the world. Our program with SEVA is simple: We donate thousands of journals for SEVA, who then sells these journals through fundraisers and puts 100% of the profit to their programs.

    SEVA Canada is the sister organisation of SEVA, a San Francisco-based organisation established in 1978 by Dr. Larry Brilliant and his wife Girija Brilliant, a public health specialist. This unique non-profit organisation focuses on community ophthalmology programs to provide medical help for women, children, the very poor, and those living in rural area access. SEVA Canada works in India, Nepal, Tibet, Tanzania, Guatemala, Cambodia and Egypt.

    Discover more about SEVA by reading their full story on our blog.

In addition to these organisations, we also proudly support:

Literacy & Education:

  • Simon Fraser University – Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing
  • 826 Seattle
  • Craftspeople Cooperative in Kutch, India
  • Verein Buchbinder-Museum Mainz
  • Gutenberg Museum
  • Goderich District Collegiate Institute

Health & Social Services:

  • Doctors Without Borders
  • Oxfam Canada
  • Bangladesh nursing project
  • Western Institute for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing
  • Hospital and Solar Project, Bareilly, India
  • Education for Orphans Project, Germany
  • Nelson Mandela's Children Fund
  • Keep a Child Alive
  • Apprentis d'Auteuil

The Paperblanks Scholarship: Our Commitment to the Arts

We feel that engaging in the arts is a powerful means by which people can enrich their daily lives, become inspired by new ideas and collaborate with people from cultures other than their own.

We therefore offer financial assistance to students looking to further their artistic studies abroad. The awards, ranging from $500 CAD to $5,000 CAD are given to individuals in financial need who wish to pursue their passion for literature, design, music or dance in another country.

Anyone interested in applying for financial support is asked to contact Supriti Bharma via e-mail at supriti@hartleyandmarks.com . Submissions should include a resume, full details on your intended course of study, as well as a full page description of what your chosen art form means to you, why you’re interested in pursuing international studies, what your goals are with respect to your art and the amount of funding being requested.