Boise Aids In Hurricane Katrina Relief by Donating Paper to 16 Mississippi School Districts; Additional Paper Supplies to be Distributed to Underprivileged Schools Throughout the Country.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Boise Paper today announced that it has donated 319 tons of paper to the School, Home & Office Products Association (SHOPA) Kids in Need Foundation. The primary thrust behind this donation was to provide much needed print and copy paper to 16 school districts in Mississippi that were hit by Hurricane Katrina. In addition, a portion of the paper was sent to the Foundation's national network of 21 resource centers to be used in underprivileged school districts.

The U.S. Department of Education originally informed the SHOPA Kids in Need Foundation about the critical paper shortage. In response, the Foundation sought potential paper donations that could be made to school districts affected by Hurricane Katrina. The SHOPA Kids in Need Foundation contacted major office supply superstores throughout the country to join in the aid. OfficeMax(R), a leading distributor of office products and services, and a longtime customer of Boise Paper, brought the opportunity to the paper manufacturer's attention with an initial request of 10 tons of paper for the 16 school districts in Mississippi. Boise Paper, seeing a chance to help schools throughout the country, stepped up the donation to the current level of 319 tons (109,300 reams). To date, Boise Paper and OfficeMax are the first companies to respond to the Foundation's request.

"With the devastation that occurred in the Gulf Region due to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, many schools and children have been affected in a terrible way," said Kristine Cohn, U.S. Department of Education, regional secretary, who led the department's "matchmaking" efforts between donors and schools impacted by the hurricanes. "However, this tremendous effort will go a long way to helping schools in Mississippi get back on track and provide students with the resources that they need to grow and learn."

"Boise's ability to come through with a donation of this size at the drop of a hat is remarkable," said Steve Rubenstein, SHOPA Kids in Need Foundation director of development. "We are so pleased to be able to work with companies such as Boise Paper and OfficeMax to provide schools in need with critical classroom materials."

"When we received the request from SHOPA Kids in Need Foundation, we quickly assessed our supplier contacts and recognized that Boise Paper would be in a good position to provide materials that would be in high demand by students in the Mississippi area," said Ryan Vero, OfficeMax Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer. "The Foundation has been an excellent partner in our efforts to support education and we are very pleased that we could play a role in supporting the children impacted by Hurricane Katrina."

"We know that the people affected by Hurricane Katrina are committed to rebuilding their homes, schools, and communities," said Kevin Koertje, Boise Paper, Office Papers Business Leader. "When OfficeMax approached us on behalf of the SHOPA Kids In Need Foundation, there was no question we would help in the cause to rebuild the area by donating as much paper as possible. As a company that prides itself on going beyond what's expected, we also realized that there were many other schools across the country in need, and we wanted to extend a hand to them as well."

About Boise Cascade 

Boise, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, manufactures engineered wood products, plywood, lumber, and particleboard and distributes a broad line of building materials, including wood products manufactured by the company. Boise also manufactures a wide range of specialty and premium products, including imaging papers for the office and home and papers for pressure-sensitive applications, as well as printing and converting papers, containerboard and corrugated boxes, newsprint, and market pulp. Visit Boise's website at www.bc.com.

About the Kids In Need Foundation

SHOPA Kids In Need Foundation is a national non-profit organization providing school supplies to impoverished children and under-funded teachers. A 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 1995 by the School, Home, & Office Products Association (SHOPA), the Foundation's mission is to recognize, promote, and support initiatives that foster educational excellence. The National Network of Kids in Need Resource Centers includes 21 facilities that allow teachers from low-income schools to obtain free school supplies for their students. In addition, Kids In Need Teacher Grants provide K-12 educators with funding to provide innovative learning opportunities for students. The SHOPA Kids in Need Foundation has distributed more than $200 million in school supplies since its founding, directly benefiting 1.3 million students and 75,000 teachers annually, and has awarded more than $660,000 in grants to teachers. For more information, visit www.kidsinneed.net.

About SHOPA

SHOPA, founded in 1991, is a nonprofit trade association representing nearly 900 manufacturers, manufacturer representatives, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, commercial/contract stationers, and service companies involved in the production, distribution, and sale of school supplies and office products. The Association also produces SBTS (SHOPA Buyer-to-Seller) Marketplace events, which facilitate pre-scheduled and one-on-one meetings. SHOPA, in cooperation with Messe Frankfurt and PROPAPER, is producing Paperworld USA in November, the international trade event for the school and office products industry. For more information, visit www.shopa.org.

About OfficeMax Incorporated

OfficeMax Incorporated is a leader in both business-to-business office products solutions and retail office products. OfficeMax delivers an unparalleled customer experience -- in service, in product, in time savings, and in value -- through a relentless focus on its customers. The company provides office supplies and paper, print and document services, technology products and solutions, and furniture to consumers and to large, medium and small businesses. OfficeMax customers are served by more than 35,000 associates through direct sales, catalogs, the Internet and nearly 900 superstores. OfficeMax trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OMX. To find the nearest OfficeMax, call 1-877-OFFICEMAX. For more information, visit http://www.officemax.com.

About the U.S. Department of Education's "Hurricane Help for Schools" program

Several days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast last September, the U.S. Department of Education launched a new Web page, "Hurricane Help for Schools," at http://hurricanehelpforschools.gov/index.html. Through this Web forum, schools impacted by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita or Wilma post their needs for school supplies, furniture, equipment and other goods, and donors publicize the items that they can provide. More than 850 matches between schools and donors have been generated through this resource. Also, the "Furniture for Schools Task Force"--a unique collaboration between the U.S. Department of Education, the General Services Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Defense--contributes federal surplus furniture and other supplies to schools in the Gulf Coast region affected by Hurricane Katrina. To date, more than 5,000 pieces of furniture and equipment valued at more than $2.6 million have been donated to schools in the Gulf Coast region.