CellMark’s PaperSeed Foundation Raises $75,000 at Wee Burn

Money benefits Stamford’s Project Music and several other global programs

by Mark Murphy

DARIEN, Conn. (June 8, 2016)—The PaperSeed Foundation, the charity arm of Gothenburg, Sweden-based CellMark, recently raised $75,000 at a golf tournament at Wee Burn Country Club. The Foundation will use the money to benefit children in traditionally underserved communities around the world. 

Because CellMark (which has offices in South Norwalk) pays PaperSeed’s administrative costs, all funds raised will support the Foundation’s highly effective educational programs. These include establishment of schools, health and life skills education, micro-grants, and job training in poor, rural areas of Central and South America, India, Africa, and in American inner cities.

“This was our first PaperSeed golf tournament, and it couldn’t have gone better,” said Joe Hoffman, president of CellMark Paper. “We had a great group, a sunny day in the mid-70s, world-class food, and the nicest golf course in Connecticut, with an exceptional, incredibly helpful staff.

“We also had excellent help from celebrities like New York Ranger great Brian Leetch,  UConn Hockey Coach Mike Cavanaugh, former Oakland Raider Phil Villapiano, and Tony Capasso, the owner from Gabriele’s Steakhouse in Greenwich. They really brought out the crowds, which helped immeasurably.”

Leetch, for example, provided a signed jersey that garnered $1,000 at auction. Jerseys signed by Cam Atkinson of Greenwich and the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Chris Kreider of the Rangers went for more than $500 each. A suite at Lambeau Field in Green Bay brought in a whopping $5,000.

“This event will support many critical programs,” said PaperSeed Director Aliyya Shelley Mattos. “Moreover, most of the overseas work we do is beyond the financial reach of local villagers, but inexpensive by Western standards. The money raised at this golf tournament will make a transformational difference in hundreds of lives.”

While most PaperSeed programs support poor children in other countries, local kids benefit, too. Stamford’s Project Music, an intensive youth music program designed to create positive social change through musical excellence, was granted $7,500. And the kids have clearly earned it! About 20 Project Music children played for tourney participants using overturned drywall buckets as percussion instruments. The PaperSeed grant will purchase more buckets, as well as flutes, violins, and cymbals for the precocious musicians.

Though the tournament is over, PaperSeed continues to host creative and fun events to raise money for its programs.