Tony Stewart and Office Depot Foundation Donating Back to School Backpacks in Kansas City

Kansas City – Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation announced that NASCAR star Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will join the Foundation on Wednesday, September 30, to donate more than 2,200 backpacks to non-profit organizations and schools in the Kansas City area.

The donations will be made during a special “Back-to-School Backpack Celebration” beginning at 4 p.m. local time at the Office Depot store located at 4851 North Oak Traffic Way in Kansas City. In addition to Stewart, special guests include Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser, who will receive a donation of backpacks for children in the community, and Shawna Searcy, Clay County Field Representative for Congressman Sam Graves.

This year, the Office Depot Foundation said that it is celebrating an extraordinary milestone as it donates its 2-millionth backpack since the inception of the National Backpack Program in 2001.

“The Office Depot Foundation believes strongly that we are helping children to build self-confidence, boost self-esteem and achieve greater success in the classroom – all as a result of being well-prepared for school,” said Foundation President Mary Wong. “We are extremely pleased to be able to donate our 2-millionth backpack at a time when so many children and families are dealing with the impact of the economic downturn.”

Stewart, a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, will help host the event as he prepares for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods race at Kansas Speedway.

“I’m very proud to partner with Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation to donate thousands of backpacks to Kansas City-area kids in need and give them an extra boost of confidence at school,” said Stewart, who has taken on the role of driver/team owner with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009. “Of all the things I’ll do this weekend – and that includes the race – this is the most important. Every kid deserves to go to school with the supplies they need to succeed, and it means a lot to me to help make that possible.”

The non-profit organizations and schools selected to participate in the September 30 backpack donation event include:

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City
• Guadalupe Centers
• North Kansas City Schools
• Operation Breakthrough
• United Inner City Services
• Youth Friends

Feed The Children, an international, non-profit relief organization that partners with the Office Depot Foundation in the backpack program, also will participate by bringing a special tractor-trailer that is used to deliver backpacks and other school supplies around the country.

To distribute its backpacks in 2009, the Foundation is hosting 25 “Back-to-School Backpack Celebrations” in cities across the U.S. and Canada – five of which feature Tony Stewart. Thousands of backpacks also are being donated by Office Depot stores in hundreds of local communities and in collaboration with Office Depot’s Business Solutions Division in select cities.