On the fourth day of Palm Beach County’s 2023 school year, all Boca Raton Elementary School students received a backpack filled with supplies such as composition books, crayons, pencils and highlighters, free of charge.
The only challenge the students faced was determining the color of the backpack they desired — either red, turquoise, blue, black or gray.
The Office Depot Corp. partnered with the School District of Palm Beach County to implement its Start Proud! program, which aims to provide educational and financial support to students and teachers at “economically distressed” schools.
“We really want to make a difference in kids’ lives,” said Gerry Smith, the Office Depot CEO. “We believe if you can make a difference in a kid early in their life, it’s going to change their trajectory.”
Two other schools in Palm Beach County received backpacks, Forest Hill Elementary and Belle Glade Elementary, amounting to 2,000 distributed backpacks across the county.
To qualify, a school must have at least 97% of its students qualifying for free or reduced price lunch, said Richelle Kubsch, the South Florida Office Depot community investment project manager.
Boca Elementary also received $20,000, and one teacher was granted an “All-Star” title and given about $2,000 worth of classroom supplies.
