Investing in Education

The Office Depot Foundation's commitment to education is longstanding and broad-based. Through far-reaching programs, we are very proud to know that we have made an impact from preschools and kindergartens to university classrooms and laboratories. As part of our commitment to our mission - Listen Learn Care - we recognize the importance of supporting children, parents and teachers through initiatives that are designed to make a difference around the world.

Dream UP Career Exploration Program

The opportunity to achieve success in school is dependent upon staying in school. This principle lies at the core of a key Office Depot Foundation initiative - the Dream UP Career Exploration Program. Launched in 2009 in collaboration with the USA TODAY Charitable Foundation, this program seeks to address the alarming problem of middle school students dropping out of school.

By encouraging middle school students to begin to consider career opportunities, establish long-term goals and dream about what they might become in the future, the Dream UP program represents a vitally important strategy that teachers and schools can use to keep students in the classroom, rather than losing them to the streets.

Since its introduction in 2009, more than 67,000 young people in 24 states have examined future career opportunities through this free program, which seeks to address the alarming problem of middle school students dropping out of school. Throughout the curriculum, students read and analyze real-world information found in the print and online editions of USA TODAY. Guided by their teachers, they explore and research numerous career options that they discovered – and each student develops a career portfolio. The exploration process leads the students to a highly meaningful assignment: to craft an essay about their "Dream Job." The best essays are judged in a national Essay Challenge and five winners are given the opportunity to live their dreams for a day!

To learn more about the Dream UP Program, click here. If you are interested in bringing the Dream UP Program to your middle school in the fall semester, please contact Debby Dodge, Director of Education, USA TODAY, at ddodge@usatoday.com.

National Backpack Program - 13 Years of Hope!

For children to succeed in school, they need to have the right tools: pencils, pens, crayons and such – and something to carry them in, of course. With these in hand, they can walk out the door each morning with a sense of pride – excited about the day ahead.

Unfortunately, millions of kids are far from properly equipped for school. In fact, untold numbers of youngsters head out in the morning with nothing but a plastic bag to carry their books and school supplies in – if they even have any supplies to carry.

The Office Depot Foundation has worked exceptionally hard to change this troubling reality. By donating great-looking new sackpacks containing essential school supplies to deserving children, we are giving them invaluable tools they can use to succeed in the classroom.

This year, the Foundation will donate 300,000 sackpacks to non-profit organizations and schools in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and internationally – the most ever in a single year. By the end of 2013, Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation will have helped more than 3 million children since the inception of the National Backpack Program in 2001.

The sackpacks we donate are designed with kids in mind – they come in six different color combinations with kid-friendly graphics. You will not find the Office Depot Foundation's logo anywhere on the sackpacks – except for a removable paper tag. We want to be sure that children are proud to carry the sackpacks they receive, with no risk of being stigmatized by something that clearly identifies it as an act of charity.

Visit the Office Depot Foundation page on Facebook to view photos from sackpack donation events.