Dear Colleagues,

International Paper employees traditionally set the standard for supporting friends, co-workers and communities. Last year was no exception � even with the economic challenges we faced and continue to manage. One example of this giving spirit is the Employee Relief Fund (ERF), which was created to assist employees impacted by natural disaster or personal tragedy.

We had many employees whose lives were devastated by house fires, floods, tornadoes and Hurricanes Ike and Gustav over the past year. But, thanks to the contributions from employees and funds from International Paper, the ERF was able to provide grants totaling $30,000 to 37 employees. These funds helped these families with basic needs related to food, clothing and shelter.

That spirit continued when in May 2008, a major earthquake rocked Sichuan Province and IP employees across the globe rallied together to help those in need, donating more than $15,000 to the relief efforts. International Paper matched these donations dollar for dollar and donated an additional $143,000 (1 million Rmb) to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

I want to thank each of you who have contributed to and continue to support the ERF. Your involvement demonstrates your concern for one another and is invaluable to those employees and their families that benefit from this collective effort.

Best regards,

John Faraci