Two Disadvantaged Women Receive New Laptops and $500 Gift Card
from Office Depot to Support Their Professional Goals
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(Business Wire)--
In conjunction with the recent NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at
the Auto Club Speedway in California, Dress for Success(R), a
not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of
disadvantaged women, and Office Depot(R) (NYSE:ODP), the official
office products partner of NASCAR, joined forces to recognize two
women who have taken the lead in their own race to career success.
Kaydene Bennett, 24, and Holly Ammons, 44 - both from New York -
both attended special events during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race
weekend, and were surprised with a business-style makeover courtesy of
Office Depot. The makeover took place at an afternoon shopping session
at Office Depot's nearby Rancho Cucamonga store, where Bennett and
Ammons each received a brand-new laptop and a $500 Office Depot gift
card.
"Office Depot is proud to partner with women in business every
day, and we are especially pleased to continue our relationship with
Dress For Success," said Michele A. Henderson, Vice President of Human
Resources for Office Depot. "Kaydene and Holly are wonderful examples
of what any woman can achieve when given the tools to succeed."
Henderson participated as a featured guest at a power lunch hosted
by the Speedway on Thursday prior to the Office Depot business
shopping session. The lunch offered Bennett and Ammons the opportunity
to meet with a number of prominent women in motorsports, including
track president Gillian Zucker, Nancy Sterling (mother of NASCAR
driver Carl Edwards), and executives from Roush Fenway Racing, Diageo
and Crown Royal. The Dress For Success clients were also treated to a
surprise guest when Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Office Depot
Ford Fusion, stopped in to meet them and talk to them about their
experiences.
Bennett and Ammons were selected to receive the business-style
makeover from more than 5,000 women who participated in the Dress for
Success program in New York last year. Both women were referred to
Dress for Success by local support agencies and given business suits
to wear to interviews. Each was then able to secure a job and have
since continued to flourish in their careers.
"We are thrilled to be able to offer these women a weekend full of
professional makeovers and NASCAR excitement," said Joi Gordon, Chief
Executive Officer of Dress for Success Worldwide. "We hope they will
make valuable business contacts and learn from some of the brightest
women in professional sports."
Dress Barn also assisted Dress for Success with the makeovers by
providing a complimentary shopping spree at its nearby retail
location, and Diageo, the world's leading premium drinks company,
allocated the rear quarter panel of Jamie McMurray's No. 26 Crown
Royal(R) Ford Fusion to the Dress for Success logo. Crown Royal is one
of multiple adult beverages in Diageo's product portfolio, and the
logo was on display during the Sprint Cup Series race.
Office Depot's Support for Dress For Success
Office Depot began its relationship with Dress for Success in
2005. Since then, the company has supported events such as the Dress
for Success 2006 and 2007 Success Summit, and provided organization
members with office supplies and business products, including the
FranklinCovey Planning System Kit. In addition, Office Depot named
Dress for Success as the company's charitable partner for the Office
Depot Success Strategies for Businesswomen Conference, which was
hosted by six cities across the United States in early 2007. The
conference, now in its seventh year, provides female business owners
and corporate professionals the opportunity to network, learn from and
empower each other.
Office Depot has raised approximately $35,000 for Dress for
Success through the sale of ladies business totes as well as auction
initiatives at these conferences. The company was also a Platinum
Sponsor for the Dress for Success 10th Anniversary Gala in April 2007
and launched a line of Foray and FranklinCovey ladies business totes
in more than 1,100 retail stores across the country with 5% of all
sales going to Dress for Success.
About Dress for Success
Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization
that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by
providing professional attire, a network of support and the career
development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since
starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to more
than 80 cities in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands and
the UK. To date, Dress for Success has helped more that 350,000 women
work towards self-sufficiency. Visit www.dressforsuccess.org to learn
more.
About Office Depot
Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of
customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as
Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides products and services to
its customers through more than 1,600 worldwide retail stores, a
dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and a $4.9 billion
e-commerce operation. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately
$15.5 billion, and employs about 49,000 associates around the world.
The Company provides more office products and services to more
customers in more countries than any other company, and currently
sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 43 countries.
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.
Office Depot, Delray Beach
Mindy Kramer, 561-438-4276
mindy.kramer@officedepot.com
or
Edelman
Lisa Schmitz, 312-240-2604
lisa.schmitz@edelman.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
