Office Depot Hosts 'Backpack Donation Day' on August 31 In Scarsdale, New York

Office Depot Hosts 'Backpack Donation Day' on August 31 In Scarsdale, New York

More Than 1,500 Backpacks Will Be Donated to 11 Non-Profit Organizations in Westchester/Rockland County and Bronx, NY; Children Will Also Receive Backpacks at the Event

SCARSDALE, N.Y., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
WHAT: Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office
products and services, will celebrate "Backpack Donation Day" in
Scarsdale, NY. In collaboration with the company's National
Backpack Program, more than 1,500 backpacks will be presented to
11 different non-profit organizations based in Westchester,
Rockland County and Bronx, New York, all which work with
disadvantaged children.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050801/FLM019LOGO )

This event will take place on August 31 and begin promptly at
2:00 p.m. at Office Depot's retail store in Scarsdale, NY.

This year, through the National Backpack Program, Office Depot
will donate more than 300,000 backpacks containing basic school
supplies to underprivileged and "at-risk" kids through area non-
profit organizations and Title One schools that help kids
throughout the country - just in time for kids heading back-to-
school.

Office Depot began offering its signature charitable in-kind
Backpack Program in 2001. Since its inception and including
this year, Office Depot will have placed more than 880,000
backpacks in the hands of children across North America.

Additionally, in an effort to reach out to the community at
large, Office Depot also invited qualified non-profit
organizations to submit requests for backpacks through its
Community Relations Website for the first time. From these
requests, recipients were selected and many of those who
submitted requests will receive backpacks at the scheduled
events.

Office Depot's deep commitment to "Caring and Making a
Difference," especially in the communities in which it operates,
inspires the office supply giant to become involved with causes
and organizations that make a profound social impact.

WHEN: The event will take place Wednesday, August 31, 2005 and begin
promptly at 2:00 p.m.

WHO: SCARSDALE EVENT:
* Office Depot District Manager, Tom Shea, will host event
* Representatives, board members, and children from the
following Westchester/Rockland County and Bronx-based
organizations will be in attendance at the event and accept
the backpacks containing school supplies from Office Depot
executives:

-- Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC) (Bronx)
-- Latino Pastoral Action Center (Bronx)
-- MARC After School and Pre-K Program, Inc. (Bronx)
-- MBD Community Housing Corp. (Bronx)
-- Mercy Center, Inc. (Bronx)
-- WHEDCO Urban Horizons EC Discovery Center (Bronx)
-- The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (Bronx)
-- Head Start of Rockland, Inc. (Nyack)

Backpacks will also be donated to Hawthorne Cedar Knolls Union
UFSD (Hawthorne); Big Brothers Big Sisters (Newburgh); and
Living Word Christian Church (White Plains), but representatives
will not be in attendance at the event.

WHERE: Scarsdale Event:
Office Depot's Retail Store
423 Central Park Avenue
Scarsdale, NY 10583
Cross Streets: Next to U.S. Post Office
(914) 722-0770

VISUALS: Backpack donations to organizations and children.
Photo opportunity and media interviews with representatives from
Office Depot and benefiting organizations and children receiving
backpacks.

Members of the media, both print and broadcast are encouraged to attend. Photos and interviews will follow the events. For media representatives that are unable to attend, photographs from the events will be available by contacting Lauren Garvey at lauren@jkggroup.com ; Lisa Black at lblack@jkggroup.com ; Seth Bidder at sbidder@jkggroup.com ; or Sarah Clark at sclark@jkggroup.com .

For more information, please contact:

Lauren Garvey
JKG Group
Ph: 561-989-9931, ext 101
Cell Phone: 561-702-0178
lauren@jkggroup.com

Lisa Black
JKG Group
561-989-9931, ext 103
lblack@jkggroup.com

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050801/FLM019LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Office Depot

CONTACT: Lauren Garvey, ext. 101, or mobile, +1-561-702-0178, or
lauren@jkggroup.com, or Lisa Black, ext. 103, or lblack@jkggroup.com, both of
JKG Group, +1-561-989-9931, for Office Depot

Web site: http://www.officedepot.com/

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