Office Depot Foundation Serves 3.3 Million Children Through National Backpack Program – Now in 14th Year

In the 14^th year of its award-winning National Backpack Program, the Office Depot Foundation is donating 350,000 school sackpacks in seven brand new, colorful designs this year to help children around the world succeed in school. 

By the end of this year, Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation will have donated more than 3.3 million backpacks and sackpacks to deserving children.  The sackpacks, which have been completely reimagined for 2014, feature seven kid-friendly designs – two for boys, two for girls and three that are unisex.  Each sackpack holds a zippered pouch containing essential school supplies – a pen, a pencil, four crayons, a pencil sharpener, an eraser and a 6-inch ruler. 

The sackpacks do not carry any Office Depot or Office Depot Foundation branding or logos.

The specially designed sackpacks are manufactured exclusively for the Foundation.  Highly contemporary in their design, they reflect and respond to changes in the ways that children are taking their materials to school.  Made from the same sturdy material as backpacks, they are water-resistant and lined to provide extra protection for their contents.  They feature strong ropes and have no metal parts. 

Intended primarily for use by students in grades K-5, the sackpacks also are suitable for older children, who use them in a variety of ways.  The sackpack is compact and stores flat, yet still offers plenty of room for books and other school items. 

The sackpacks are being donated throughout the summer as the Foundation carries out the 14^th year of its National Backpack Program.  Every Office Depot and OfficeMax store in the United States has received approximately 50 sackpacks to give to nonprofit organizations and schools in their communities. 

In addition, sackpacks are being donated through more than 35 Back-to-School Celebration events in key Office Depot markets during the summer, as well as in collaboration with nine national nonprofits serving children in the U.S. and around the world:

·         AARP Experience Corps

·         Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)

·         National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Association

·         Feed The Children

·         Food For The Poor

·         Kids In Need Foundation

·         National Foundation for Women Legislators

·         Operation Homefront

·         Samaritan’s Feet International

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 non-profit 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.

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