BRIDGETON (NJ), February 18, 2016 – Tri-County Community Action Agency Inc. (T/A Gateway Community Action Partnership) has been awarded a $3,500 grant by Staples Foundation, the private charitable arm of Staples, Inc., under a program that lets Staples associates direct donations.

“Corporate partners stepping up to support essential agency programs, in this case Literacy Services, is so rewarding and so important to us,” Gateway President & CEO Albert B. Kelly, CCAP, said of the Staples Foundaion grant to support Literacy Services. “Self-sufficiency is the cornerstone of our mission and literacy is the cornerstone of self-sufficiency.

“Staples generous contribution to literacy is a direct benefit to the many volunteers who have trained to tutor and meet regularly with their learners to achieve that goal of an improved life through self-sufficiency,” Kelly added.

This grant is part of a philanthropic initiative created by Staples Foundation which allows Staples associates around the world to direct funding to non-profit organizations that are focused on education or job skills. The program, called 2 Million and Change, encourages local community engagement by awarding larger grants to organizations where associates are highly engaged in volunteering or fundraising – up to $25,000 per organization.

In 2014, Staples awarded more than $2.4 million in grants to 1,056 local organizations in support of education and job skills programs, including tutoring for pediatric cancer patients, job skills development for individuals with disabilities, school supplies, mentoring and more.

“Staples Foundation is committed to encouraging associates around the globe to make a difference in their local communities and through 2 Million and Change we enable them to directly support the programs where they personally see the greatest need,” said Emily McCann, senior manager of community and giving for Staples, Inc.

Since 1987, Gateway has been the federally recognized Community Action Partnership for Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties and provides programs in core areas to promote self-sufficiency and improve the quality of life, including child care, nutrition and education, literacy, affordable housing, energy conservation and energy assistance.

About Staples Community and Giving

Staples contributes to educational and job-related community efforts with a primary focus on disadvantaged youth, from literacy and mentoring to career skills development, through in-kind and monetary donations and grants from Staples Foundation, the private charitable arm of Staples, Inc. Through its community and giving efforts, Staples and Staples Foundation have helped more than 7,000 organizations in 26 countries. For more information, visit www.staples.com/community.