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Office Depot Foundation Rings NYSE Opening Bell on 8/3 to Celebrate Donation of its 2 Millionth Backpack in 2009

Foundation Donates 1,500 Backpacks to Harlem Children’s Zone to Commemorate Event

Office Depot Foundation Rings NYSE Opening Bell on 8/3 to Celebrate Donation of its 2 Millionth Backpack in 2009

Foundation Donates 1,500 Backpacks to Harlem Children’s Zone to Commemorate Event

Published 08-03-09

Submitted by Listen Learn Care Foundation

New York, N.Y. - August 3, 2009 - Since 2001, the Office Depot Foundation has donated two million backpacks to deserving children across the United States, in Canada and around the world. The Foundation will celebrate this extraordinary milestone today (8/3) by ringing the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange - and will commemorate the occasion by donating 1,500 backpacks to the Harlem Children's Zone.

"The Foundation believes strongly that we are helping children to build self-confidence, boost self-esteem and achieve greater success in the classroom - all as a result of being well-prepared for school," states its president, Mary Wong. "We are extremely pleased to be able to donate our two millionth backpack at a time when so many children and families are dealing with the impact of the economic downturn." This year alone, the Office Depot Foundation - the independent foundation serving as the primary charitable giving arm of Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) - will donate approximately 300,000 backpacks.

Several children and teachers from the Harlem Children's Zone, a non-profit organization renowned for its efforts to help children and families in Harlem, will participate in the bell-ringing, as will representatives from Office Depot, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center and the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research.

While the scale of the Office Depot Foundation National Backpack Program is global, it makes a difference on an individual level for every child it reaches. "Providing a backpack is one of the most important things we can do to promote success and resilience," says Dr. Andrew Schneider-Muñoz, a Harvard-trained educator, child psychologist and vice president of the Center for Youth Development at the Academy for Educational Development in Washington, D.C. "A backpack helps a child to know that we care. It's powerful in their lives and enables them to experience a level of support that they carry with them throughout the year."

To distribute its backpacks, the Foundation is hosting 25 "Back-to-School Backpack Celebrations" across North America - five of which feature special appearances by Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot(R)/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Thousands of backpacks also are being donated by Office Depot stores in hundreds of local communities and in collaboration with the Office Depot Business Solutions Division in selected cities. Thousands more are being distributed through the Foundation's partnerships with eight national non-profit organizations - including the Tony Stewart Foundation, the National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Association, City Year, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), Feed The Children, the Kids In Need Foundation, Nourish America and the National Foundation for Women Legislators, whose members will give backpacks to children in all 50 states. For the second consecutive year, backpack donations will be made to children of the Navajo Nation in Arizona and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.

To learn more about the Office Depot Foundation National Backpack Program, please visit www.officedepotfoundation.org or the Two Million Backpacks page on Facebook.

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(R), the Foundation supports a variety of programs that help children succeed in school and in life; enable civil society (non-profit) organizations to become more efficient and effective; help people and businesses prepare for disasters, then recover and rebuild afterwards; strengthen local communities through grants, product donations and volunteerism; and encourage community development through entrepreneurship and economic innovation. To learn more, visit www.officedepotfoundation.org.

About Harlem Children's Zone, Inc.
Harlem Children's Zone, Inc., is a nationally renowned non-profit that offers a unique, comprehensive network of education, social-service and community-building programs for children and families in Central Harlem. The organization serves over 8,000 children within a 97-block area, starting at birth with The Baby College parenting workshops, through college. Its Harlem Children's Zone Project is the model for President Barack Obama's Promise Neighborhoods.

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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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