January 28, 2021
In the middle of November, AICC announced the creation of its second 501(c)(3) education foundation, the Foundation for Packaging Education. The resulting support offered from the independent community has been overwhelming.
AICC’s board of directors led the way, as they often do, by making multiple pledges while they were in the process of approving the creation of the foundation. Since the announcement, more AICC members have pushed the total value of pledges received, combined with monies from AICC’s match on the first $1 million, well above the $1 million mark. The foundation is therefore well positioned to meet its goal of getting started with $2 million in total pledged monies.
The AICC Million Dollar Match program is still on. Pledges received that bring the total up to the million-dollar plateau for match from AICC will be designated to have come from the foundation’s “Inaugural Donors.”
As a reminder, AICC has created the Foundation for Packaging Education to support the development and delivery of employee education and training resources for workers in the corrugated, folding carton, rigid box, and related supply chain industries. In other words, the foundation’s mission is to support training programs for your box plant employees.
The foundation plans to survey AICC members to get an understanding of the areas of focus that they feel need to be addressed relative to the training and education of the workforce. This will lead to the foundation setting funding initiatives that can go to those areas of need. Thus far, the short but growing list includes:
- AICC’s Packaging School
- Certificate programs for production disciplines
- By course
- By track
- By program
- HR assistance
- E-commerce
Plans for AICC’s Spring Meeting, April 26–28, at the Omni at Amelia Island, Florida, are well underway. One of the most popular events at the Spring Meeting is the Independents Cup Golf Tournament. This year, the proceeds from the tournament will go to two worthy endeavors: Driving Out Darkness, the nonprofit organization created by the O’Brien family in memory of longtime AICC member Steve O’Brien; and the Foundation for Packaging Education. While we continue to monitor all going on with the pandemic, we still hope to see you there.
It is not too late for you to join the Inaugural Donors program. Invest in your future. Please make a tax-deductible pledge to the Foundation for Packaging Education by visiting www.packaginged.org.
