CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Domtar Corp. and others this week handed out some early Christmas presents to local teachers and students in the form of 40,000 books. And the teachers seemed to really appreciate it.

"This is great," says Shyrese Johnson, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Windings Springs Elementary in Charlotte.

"It's absolutely wonderful," agrees Melissa White, a third-grade teacher at Fort Mill Elementary School.

Both teachers were busy taking free books off the shelves at Classroom Central, a nonprofit in Charlotte that provides schools supplies for teachers and students.

Domtar and First Book, another nonprofit, donated 40,000 books to teachers and students in Mecklenburg and York counties as a way to promote literacy, says Heather Alverson Stowe, Domtar corporate responsibility manager.

"It's a cause that is close to our hearts and core to our business," she says.

Jan Martin, Domtar media and community relations senior manager, says employees from the corporation's Fort Mill headquarters really enjoy participating in the program. They like it because the books go almost directly to children.

"For some, it could be their very first book," Martin says.

On Wednesday, the teachers drove their shopping carts around the floor of Classroom Central, collecting their 150 books. Domtar employees waited at the door to help load the books into the teachers' cars.

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