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National Partnerships
City of Hope
One of the elite group of National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers with a world-class research facility and unparalleled dedication to patient-centered care.
The City of Hope campus hosts the data coordinating center for clinical research studies conducted nationwide. The knowledge gained by studying these collective findings is leading to disease-specific protocols for use by physicians anywhere, resulting in better patient care everywhere.
Office Depot, along with other members of the office products industry, has helped to establish the Center for Applied Biomedicine and Genetics at the City of Hope. In this specialized facility, genetic and other innovative therapeutics will be produced onsite and can be immediately advanced to the next stage of development-testing in patients. The center will provide a cost effective means to move multiple cutting-edge technologies into human clinical studies more quickly while maintaining the high level of quality control established by the Federal Food and Drug Administration.
These molecular strategies will be used to treat diseases for which there are limited or no effective medicines available-the hardest-to-cure and most complex diseases known to science, including cancer and diabetes. As a result, more promising experimental treatments will be available to patients sooner than was previously possible, offering greater hope to people around the world.
Office Depot has done many fundraising activities in support of the City of Hope, including the most recent Sawgrass Open Golf Tournament held in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Our employees have also contributed their time and talents in direct support of this worthy cause. Currently, Steve Embree, Vice President of Merchandising for Office Depot is the Dinner Chair for the 2001 Spirit of Life Award reception to be held on September 11, 2001 on Chicago's Navy Pier.
For more information about the City of Hope, please contact Nancy Doyle at (800) 779-5893 or visit their website at www.cityofhope.org.
New Partnership with Junior Achievement Supports Our Commitment to Children
Office Depot has entered into a new North American partnership with Junior Achievement, the world's largest and fastest-growing organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and free enterprise. This partnership expands our commitment to "Taking Care of Kids" in a way that will enable us to touch even more young lives in a positive way.
Junior Achievement's programs are taught in more than 170,000 classrooms. Through approximately 150 U.S. affiliates and 30 chartered offices in Canada, Junior Achievement touches the lives of more than five million students each year in cities, suburbs and rural areas throughout North America. Junior Achievement International reaches some two million additional students each year in more than 110 countries.
JA programs operate in grades K-12, with a wide range of activities designed to teach elementary students about their roles as individuals, workers and consumers and to prepare middle and high school students for key economic and workforce issues they are likely to face in the future. In addition to bringing the free enterprise system to life in the classroom, Junior Achievement programs teach young people the importance of staying in school. Some of Junior Achievement's distinguished alumni include U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania; Frederick A. Deluca, founder and CEO of Subway; and Dr. Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami.
Office Depot's partnership with Junior Achievement will focus on four key programs:
Employee Volunteerism -- The Company will invite employees to host middle school and high school students on National Groundhog Job Shadow Day in February. As they "shadow" Office Depot associates, young people will have the opportunity to see the inner workings of a major retail company first-hand. They'll be able to understand the relevance of their schoolwork to particular jobs and learn about career opportunities in the retail industry.
Student Scholarships/Travelships -- Office Depot will award a $14,000 college scholarship in each of its five regions and make it possible for each recipient to attend the Junior Achievement Student/Business Leader Forum, which coincides with the Junior Achievement National Business Hall of Fame event each year.
JA National Business Hall of Fame Student/Business Leader Forum -- As a continuing sponsor of this annual event, Office Depot supports the expansion of an invaluable educational component of the nation's premiere corporate recognition event.
Teacher Appreciation Breakfasts -- Office Depot has invited local Junior Achievement affiliates to attend its Teacher Appreciation Breakfasts in the United States and Canada prior to the beginning of the new school year. As a result, representatives of JA offices will have an opportunity to share information about their programs with approximately 100,000 teachers throughout North America.
Kids In Need Resource Center
In November of 2000, Office Depot partnered with the School and Home Office Products Association (SHOPA) to open the newest, "Kids In Need Resource Center" in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Kids In Need is a national program sponsored by SHOPA's Foundation for Educational Excellence. The program provides free school supplies and funding to aid students and teachers in low-income, under-funded school districts nationwide. Merchandise totaling several hundred thousand dollars is distributed each school year to eligible area schools that have been pre-qualified based on having at least 70 percent of the student population participating in the Free School Lunch Program.
The South Florida location will impact a majority of the district's 210 schools-the fifth largest school district in the country! Ft. Lauderdale, Florida is one of nine major markets where Kids In Need Centers operate. Other locations include Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Seattle, and Washington, DC.
More than $20,000,000 worth of school supplies including writing instruments, paper, art supplies, notebooks, and binders have been donated to the centers nationwide.
For more information about SHOPA and the Kids In Need Resource Centers, please contact Scott Walters at (937) 297-2250.
Gifts In Kind International
Office Depot has partnered with Gifts In Kind International, the world's leading charity in product philanthropy. This partnership allows Office Depot to place our donated products in the hands of hundreds of worthy children's charities across the nation.
Gifts in Kind International was founded in 1984 and provides charities access to more than $400 million annually in product and service donations through its powerful network of affiliated programs. Gifts in Kind programs offer important educational resources for youth, ensure those in need of assistance have a safe place to live, provide critical access to health care, a strong crisis support network and targeted training program opportunities that have the capacity to enrich lives.
Through its expansive global network, Gifts In Kind International helps companies and charities make a substantial, measurable difference in the most critical problems being faced in communities around the world.
To find out more about product donations from Office Depot through Gifts In Kind International®, please visit their website at www.giftsinkind.org or you may e-mail Gifts In Kind at productdonations@giftsinkind.org or you may send a written request to Gifts In Kind International, 333 N. Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.
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