Dec. 17, 2015
December 17, 2015
For more information:
Scott Bird
Moxley Carmichael
865-544-0088
[email protected]
Steel recycler donates coats, hats, mittens and more to schoolchildren
Front row, from left, Lonsdale Elementary School kindergarten students Juniyah Lattimore, Jujame Ponce Hernandez and Melissa Pascual Tomas show off their new winter weather gear with Gerdau Vice President and General Manager Johnny Miller (back) after making their selections at Gerdau’s annual Mitten Tree event at the school Dec. 11. The company has provided hats, mittens, holiday treats and a visit from Santa to the schoolchildren each year since 2000.
The holidays will be brighter and the winter a little warmer for 415 Lonsdale Elementary School students, thanks to steel recycler Gerdau and others in the community.
Maintaining a tradition it started in 2000, Gerdau hosted on Dec. 11 the annual Mitten Tree event to provide hats, mittens, holiday treats and a visit from Santa for the schoolchildren. The event is a highlight for both Gerdau employees and Lonsdale students.
“The Mitten Tree is a happy and helpful celebration at Lonsdale Elementary,” Principal Amy Brace said. “The children love all the attention, games and treats. They also benefit from having hats and mittens to keep them warm during the cold winter months, which is particularly important because so many of our students walk to school. We appreciate Gerdau’s generosity in hosting the Mitten Tree year after year.”
Gerdau also donated dolls, action figures, soccer balls and 100 coats for the second annual Lonsdale Elementary Winter Gift Shop, which is supported by area businesses, organizations, churches and the Knoxville Police Department. The shop puts a twist on the “Angel Tree” concept. Instead of purchasing gifts for a designated child, donors provide things like clothing, balls, games and books. Parents then “purchase” five gifts for each child by making donations as they are able.
“We love the Lonsdale community and Lonsdale Elementary,” Gerdau Vice President and General Manager Johnny Miller said. “The Mitten Tree event is always fun and rewarding, and the Winter Gift Shop provides an excellent way to celebrate the holidays and help the parents in our community put something special under the tree for their children.”
Gerdau has a robust social responsibility program that focuses on providing community support in the locations where it operates.
Front row, from left, Lonsdale Elementary School kindergarten students Maria Diego Nicolas, Noemi Andres Pedro and Jennifer Sebastian show off their new winter weather gear with Gerdau Vice President and General Manager Johnny Miller (back) after selecting their winter hats and mittens at Gerdau’s annual Mitten Tree event at the school Dec. 11.
About Gerdau
Gerdau is the leading producer of long steel in the Americas and one of the largest suppliers of special long steel in the world. It has over 45,000 employees and industrial operations in 14 countries with operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia, which together represent an installed capacity of over 25 million metric tons of steel per year. It is the largest recycler in Latin America and around the world it transforms millions of metric tons of scrap into steel every year. Gerdau is listed on the stock exchanges of São Paulo, New York, and Madrid and has around 140,000 shareholders.
For more information, visit http://www.gerdau.com/longsteel.
From left, Gerdau employees Carlus Thompson, David Moore, Donald Clark, Matthew Crumley, Katie Wallace, Ronald Fritz, Kenneth Strickland, John Rauhuff, Buddy Wolfenbarger, Wesley Mills, Damien Rose, Rick Christopher, Brian Bowen and Anthony Chaperon stop for a photo with gifts they and other employees from the steel mill donated for the Lonsdale Elementary Winter Gift Shop, held Dec. 14 at the school. The group donated dolls, action figures, soccer balls and 100 coats for the second annual event, which provides holiday gifts to children at the school.
