Award-Winning Program Makes a Difference to 3.7 Million Kids since
2001
BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 23, 2015--
For the past 15 years, the Office
Depot Foundation has been giving children important tools they need
to succeed in school – and in life - at the beginning of the new school
year.
This year is no exception. In 2015, the Foundation - the independent
charitable giving arm of Office Depot® (NASDAQ:ODP) - is
celebrating the 15th year of its award-winning National
Backpack Program by donating 200,000 colorful new sackpacks
containing essential school supplies to nonprofit organizations, schools
and agencies across the United States and internationally.
By the end of 2015, Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation will
have given away more than 3.7 million backpacks and sackpacks since the
National Backpack Program began in 2001.
“For most children, the first day of school is an exciting time complete
with new clothes and back-to-school gear,” says Office Depot Foundation
President Mary Wong. “But for kids in families where money is tight, the
experience can be just the opposite. We believe that every child should
have the opportunity to go to school with dignity and hope. The
sackpacks and school supplies we donate help to level the playing field
and give these wonderful children a reason to stand just a little bit
taller.”
To distribute sackpacks directly to children, the Foundation is hosting
Back-to-School Celebrations in some 20 cities across the U.S. in July
and August. This week, 18,000+ new sackpacks are being donated through
events in Atlanta, San Francisco, New Orleans and Indianapolis. In New
Orleans alone, the Office Depot Foundation has donated more than 50,000
backpacks and sackpacks to children in the decade since Hurricane
Katrina.
Thousands more sackpacks are being given to kids through the Office
Depot Foundation’s continuing partnerships with nine nonprofit
organizations serving children nationally and globally. The Foundation
is collaborating with the AARP Experience Corps, Community Anti-Drug
Coalitions of America (CADCA), the National Court Appointed Special
Advocates (CASA) Association, Feed the Children, Food For The Poor, the
Kids In Need Foundation, the National Foundation for Women Legislators,
Operation Homefront and Samaritan’s Feet International. For the seventh
consecutive year, children of the Navajo Nation in Arizona will receive
sackpacks.
The specially designed, drawstring-style sackpacks come in seven bright
and colorful designs that are new for 2015. Each one includes a zippered
pouch containing a pen, pencil, pencil sharpener, eraser, six-inch ruler
and four crayons. The sackpacks do not have any Office Depot Foundation
or Office Depot logos or markings.
More information about the National Backpack Program can be found on the
Foundation’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/officedepotfoundation.
To learn more about the Office Depot Foundation and its initiatives, go
to www.officedepotfoundation.org/.
You can follow the Foundation on Twitter @OfficeDepotFndn; the National
Backpack Program’s hashtag is #ODFcares. The Foundation is also on
Instagram: @officedepotfoundation.
About the Office Depot Foundation
The Office Depot Foundation is an independent foundation − tax exempt
under IRC Sec. 501(c)(3) − that serves as the independent charitable
giving arm of Office Depot, Inc. In keeping with its mission, Listen
Learn Care®, the Foundation supports a variety of programs
that give children tools to succeed in school and in life; build the
capacity of nonprofit organizations through collaboration and
innovation; and help communities prepare for disasters, as well as
recovering and rebuilding afterwards. For more information, visit www.officedepotfoundation.org.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150723006366/en/
Source: Office Depot Foundation
Office Depot Foundation
Leon Rubin 561-251-8075 (mobile)
lrubin@jkggroup.com
or
Serbin
Media
Bruce Serbin, 954-821-3434
bruce@serbinmedia.com
