Office Depot to Give Supplies to Schools

Office Depot will give free supplies to 44 elementary schools in the San Fernando Valley under an adopt-a-school program, school district officials said Saturday.

The program will match schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Subdistrict C--which includes Van Nuys, Woodland Hills, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana, Reseda and part of Northridge--with the seven Office Depot stores in the San Fernando Valley, Subdistrict C Supt. Robert Collins said.

The program will be launched at a news conference Tuesday at Dixie Canyon Avenue Elementary School in Sherman Oaks.

Although the value of the sponsorship is unspecified, Collins estimates it will be substantial. “It is certainly one of the largest adoptions of a school district by a corporate entity,” he said.

Participating schools will submit lists of office supplies and Office Depot will work to meet those needs on a rotating monthly basis, said Tina-Marie Ryan, the company’s special projects coordinator.

The first donation--which will include pens, paper and a file cabinet--will be presented to Dixie Canyon school Tuesday. The other 43 elementary schools will receive their supplies March 1, Ryan said.

Collins said he is grateful for the retailer’s involvement.

“There is no mystery there have been complaints from parents and teachers about shortages of materials in our schools,” he said. “Our goal is to make sure that never happens.”