Release: NASCAR Star Delivers Supplies To Katrina Affected School
NASCAR STAR CARL EDWARDS AND OFFICE DEPOT DELIVER $100,000 IN TECHNOLOGY AND CLASSROOM SUPPLIES TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HIT HARD BY HURRICANE KATRINA Edwards Talks with Students and Takes Part in Classroom Activities During Visit to School in Rural Mississippi Delray Beach, Fla., November 1, 2006 - Students at Earl Travillion Attendance Center (ETAC), an elementary school, located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, were treated to a special visitor today when NASCAR star Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion, showed up with some much needed help for the school. ETAC was one of many schools in the path of Hurricane Katrina, which ripped through the Gulf Region just over one year ago. Edwards drove up to the school in the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion race car and personally delivered approximately $100,000 in supplies, technology and classroom products from his sponsor, Office Depot , a leading global provider of office products and services. The products and visit from Edwards were part of the winning prize package from Office Depot's special Back To School promotion "Great Tools for Your School Sweeps." "When I heard about what these kids and this school have gone through since Hurricane Katrina, it really put things in perspective," said Edwards, a former substitute teacher and current Ambassador for Youth for National PTA. "I am happy that I am able to help Office Depot make a difference in the lives of these students, teachers and the community as a whole." ETAC was randomly selected from more than two million entries nationwide in Office Depot's back to school promotion. The prize package from Office Depot included a $9,999 school scholarship along with laptop computers from Toshiba; Microsoft(r) Comfort Optical Mice; Sanford writing products and Paper Mate(r) Pink Pearl(r) Erasers; 3M(tm)Overhead Projectors, Digital Multimedia Projectors, Super Sticky Post-it(r) Notes, Scotch(r) Magic(tm) Tape and First Aid Kits. Office Depot also provided 35 new Sauder desks, $99 merchandise cards and Foray messenger bags for the school's teachers, and a new backpack filled with school supplies for each and every student in the school. In addition to the prizes, Edwards spoke to the 250 kindergarten through sixth grade students at a school assembly, participated in a student-led Question & Answer session and visited classrooms to meet and take pictures with students and teachers. "Our school has been through so much in the past 15 months," said Christopher Furdge, Principal of Earl Travillion Attendance Center. "Fate simply hasn't been on our side. I don't have the words to describe how lucky we feel to win. Thanks to Office Depot, we now have a great start to help our students succeed and develop the skills to achieve their dreams." "It is a privilege to work with a company like Office Depot that not only does business in our community, but also supports our schools, our teachers and our students," said Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree. "The new classroom supplies, computers, desks and technology are much needed and will certainly be put to good use in the school." "Office Depot has an unwavering commitment to supporting schools, teachers and education," said Tony Ueber, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Office Depot. "Our '5% Back to Schools' program provides much-needed supplies for schools across the country, and our National Backpack Program reached a milestone this year when we donated our one-millionth backpack. Through these programs, we've seen first-hand how providing some basic supplies for students helps boost their self-esteem, confidence and pride." Schools were automatically entered into the national "Great Tools For Your School" sweepstakes through Office Depot's 5% Back to Schools program which turns purchases into credits that schools can use for classroom supplies year-round. Any time a parent, teacher or student buys school supplies at Office Depot, they can give their school's 5% Back to Schools ID at the register and 5% of their qualified purchase will be donated back to the school of their choice on a quarterly basis. Any school that participated in the program from July through September was eligible for a chance to win this promotion. Since the program began in 1999, the Office Depot 5% Back to Schools program has granted millions of dollars in merchandise credits each year to more than 35,000 schools in the U.S. and Canada. Edwards and Office Depot are also honoring the winning school by featuring the "ETAC Tigers" name on the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion during the upcoming NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway (Sunday, November 5, 2:30pm ET, NBC). About Office Depot Office Depot provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company. Incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., Office Depot has annual sales of nearly $15 billion, and employs approximately 50,000 associates around the world. Currently, the Company sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 42 countries. Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel -- from retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. As of September 30, 2006, Office Depot had 1,121 retail stores in North America and another 323 stores, either company-owned, licensed or franchised, in other parts of the world. Office Depot serves a wide range of customers through a dedicated sales force, telephone account managers, direct mail offerings, and multiple web sites. With $4.2 billion in online sales during the last twelve months, the Company is also one of the world's largest e-commerce retailers. Office Depot's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com <http://mediarelations.officedepot.com/> . FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Chad Young Edelman Public Relations 312/240-2733 Chad.Young@edelman.com