OFFICE DEPOT FOUNDATION SUPPORTS ONGOING RECOVERY EFFORTS BY DONATING 4,000 NEW CHILDREN’S SACKPACKS TO SCHOOLS, NONPROFITS IN OKLAHOMA CITY, MOORE
National Backpack Program Has Helped More Than Three Million Kids Since 2001
MOORE, Okla., July 23, 2013 –In a continuing effort to help Oklahomans recover from May’s devastating tornadoes, the Office Depot Foundationwill donate 4,000 colorful new sackpacks to deserving children served by nonprofit organizations and schools in the Oklahoma City area on July 24 (7/24) – including 3,000 for kids in Moore Public Schools.
The Foundation – the independent charitable giving arm of Office Depot®(NYSE:ODP) – will present the sackpacks, which contain essential school supplies, during a special Back-to-School Celebration beginning at 3:30 p.m. at the Office Depot store located at 2200 S. I-35 Service Road in Moore.
The Foundation pledged to donate the sackpacks to Moore Public Schools a few days after the May 20 tornado along with a number of other contributions in support of the relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts.
“In keeping with our mission – Listen Learn Care – we are committed to making a difference in children’s lives by giving them tools to help them succeed in school and, ultimately, in life,” says Office Depot Foundation President Mary Wong. “We are thrilled to know that we will reach our three millionth child this year, and grateful to Office Depot and our many supporters for giving us the opportunity to continue this program for its 13th year. We are especially pleased to be able to help children in Moore and Oklahoma City following this spring’s storms.”
The nonprofit organizations and schools scheduled to receive sackpacks during the July 24 event in Moore include:
Moore Public Schools, Oklahoma City Public Schools, Crutcho Public Schools,Latino Community Development Agency,Whiz Kids/City Care Inc.
Special guests expected to participate include City of Moore Council Member Mark Hamm, District 2; 
Cleveland County Commissioner Rod Cleveland, District 1; Jacob McHughes, Assistant to Commissioner Cleveland; Brenda Roberts, President/CEO, and Janie Milum, Chairman of the Education Services Committee, Moore Chamber of Commerce.
Also participating will be representatives from Oklahoma City-based Feed The Children, which has received 20,000 sackpacks this year from the Office Depot Foundation to distribute in all 50 states and internationally. Feed The Children and the Foundation frequently partner on disaster relief and recovery efforts.
This year, the Foundation, which serves as the independent charitable giving arm of Office Depot®(NYSE:ODP), will donate 300,000 sackpacks containing essential school supplies. By the end of 2013, Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation will have donated more than three million backpacks and sackpacks since the inception of the program in 2001.
The specially designed sackpacks come in six different color combinations with kid-friendly graphics. Each one includes a zippered pouch containing a pen, pencil, pencil sharpener, eraser, six-inch ruler and four crayons. They do not have any Office Depot Foundation or Office Depot logos or markings.
To place the sackpacks into children’s hands, the Foundation is hosting 25 Back-to-School Celebrations in cities across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. Four of these events – in Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, San Diego and New York – will feature appearances by award-winning actor, comedian and host of “America’s Got Talent” Nick Cannon.
Thousands of sackpacks are being given to kids through the Office Depot Foundation’s continuing partnerships with 10 nonprofit organizations serving children nationally and internationally. In addition to Feed The Children, the Foundation is collaborating with the AARP Experience Corps, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), the National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Association, Food For The Poor, the Kids In Need Foundation, Zach Bonner’s Little Red Wagon Foundation, the National Foundation for Women Legislators, Operation Homefront and Samaritan’s Feet International.
Thousands more are being donated through Office Depot stores in hundreds of local communities and in partnership with Office Depot’s Business Solutions Division in select cities. For the sixth consecutive year, children of the Navajo Nation in Arizona will receive sackpacks.
More information about the National Backpack Program can be found on the Office Depot 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 at www.twitter.com/officedepotfndn; the National Backpack Program’s hashtag is #OfficeDepotFndnKids.
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