Participants in the Weekend in Boca Symposium included (from left) Mark Dobosz of the SCORE Foundation, Ollie Davidson from the Business Civic Leadership Center and the Humane Society of the US and Jay Hein of the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research.

BOCA RATON, FL. - December 22, 2008 - For the second consecutive year, the Office Depot Foundation(TM) has partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) to present a leadership symposium focused on the challenges and opportunities facing the civil society sector. Dubbed "Weekend in Boca II," the gathering attracted approximately 90 local, state and national leaders from business, government and non-profit organizations to Boca Raton earlier this month.

The three-day symposium incorporated presentations and conversations around the theme "Community Development, Private Sector Partnerships and Non-profit Capacity Building in a Challenging Economy." The Office Depot Foundation, which serves as the independent charitable giving arm of Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), hosted the session in support of one of the key components of its "5 X 5 Program(TM)" of strategic priorities: "Helping non-profit (civil society) organizations become more professional and productive."

"While the number of non-profit organizations in the United States has doubled in the last 25 years, it is becoming more challenging for them to meet their most basic needs of viability and sustainability," notes Stephen Jordan, senior vice president and executive director of BCLC, which is based in Washington, D.C. "In uncertain times, the civil society/non-profit sector is even more indispensable. We appreciate the Office Depot Foundation's leadership in convening key leaders to assess what can be done to strengthen the non-profit sector’s capacity to take care of the people it serves."

Jordan facilitated the symposium along with Jay Hein, president and CEO of the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research in Indianapolis and former director of the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives, and Mary Wong, president of the Office Depot Foundation. The event included a tour of community development initiatives in Boca Raton and Delray Beach - with commentary by Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel and Delray Beach Deputy Mayor Gary Eliopoulos. Presentations also were made by Mark Dobosz, vice president of development for SCORE and executive director of the SCORE Foundation, and Barry Anderson, interim president and CEO of Gifts In Kind International.

The inaugural "Weekend in Boca" in December 2007 resulted in a white paper, "Preparing Civil Society Organizations for Leadership," which was published earlier this year by the Foundation. The paper can be viewed and downloaded at www.officedepotfoundation.org. A similar paper will be produced following Weekend in Boca II.

"We were proud to convene our second leadership symposium and delighted by the caliber of the attendees," Wong says. "This represents another important step in our efforts to help non-profit organizations not only to build capacity, but also to enhance their ability to achieve sustainability and pursue innovation."

In conjunction with Weekend in Boca, the Office Depot Foundation presented its annual "Listen Learn Care Awards" to three individuals to recognize their exceptional creativity and innovation in professional and community service, as well as in helping others to realize their goals. Listen Learn Care(TM) is the Foundation's mission statement. The honorees were:

• Tierney Cahill, a Nevada elementary school teacher who ran for Congress in response to a challenge from her students. Her inspiring story is the subject of the upcoming film, "Class Act," starring Halle Berry.
  
  
• Oliver "Ollie" Davidson, senior disaster response advisor to the Humane Society of the United States and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center, and one of the nation's foremost experts on public-private partnerships, as well as mitigation and recovery planning.

• Robin Read, president and CEO of the National Foundation for Women Legislators - the largest and oldest organization for elected women at all levels of governance from all 50 states and territories.

Listen Learn Care Foundation

Listen Learn Care Foundation

Compassionate. Creative. Committed.

As an independent, non-profit foundation, the Listen Learn Care Foundation (formerly the Office Depot Foundation) strives to make a difference to children, families and communities across the United States and around the world. 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
• Help communities prepare for disasters, as well as recovering and rebuilding afterwards

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