Backpack Campaign
The Office Depot Foundation has made its National Backpack Program and associated campaigns part of the very fabric of Office Depot’s public profile. Since 2001, Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation have been giving backpacks and sackpacks to children to boost their self-esteem and give them the sense that they have the tools they need to succeed in school. The first year of the program some 50,000 backpacks were donated; the second year 100,000 were donated; and the following year the number rose to 200,000. By the end of 2011, Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation will have given supply-filled backpacks and sackpacks to approximately 2.5 million children. And two years ago Office Depot Foundation ramped up its media relations efforts with the launch of 25 “Back-to-School Backpack Celebration” events across the U.S. and Canada involving local government officials, school district reps and nonprofits. “The most valuable lesson learned was the importance of telling the story about the impact that the backpacks made [in students’ lives],” said Mary Wong, president of the Office Depot Foundation. These stories reached the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, casting Office Depot as a big box store that has an emotional stake in education. —SG