Office Depot Helps Small Businesses with Tornado Recovery Efforts

The Office Depot Foundation, the nonprofit charitable giving arm of the office supplies giant Office Depot, announced Friday that it's offering a number of programs and services to help the families and small businesses affected by the recent tornadoes in the Southeast. The Foundation has teamed up with the National Disaster Help Desk for Business (a service managed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center) to provide information and facilitate aid to businesses located in the tornado disaster areas.

Businesses needing assistance with relief and recovery efforts can call the Help Desk toll-free 24 hours a day, as well as email and reach out on Twitter. Disaster recovery specialists are on hand to provide on-the-ground coordination between local businesses, government responders and local chambers of commerce; help with access to FEMA and SBA assistance programs, and supply businesses with information about recovery best practices. Businesses and individuals in the area that want to help with the recovery process can also connect with those affected through the Help Desk.

Office Depot stores in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Huntsville and Decatur, Ala., are helping customers keep the lines of communication open by offering free in-store fax services (up to 25 pages local and long-distance) and free mobile phone charging through the end of May.

In addition to the business services, The Office Depot Foundation is helping the hard-hit area of Tuscaloosa by donating 5,000 new backpacks filled with clothing and personal care items along with pallets of schools supplies to be distributed to schools and nonprofit organizations. An additional 5,000 of these backpacks are being donated to Feed The Children organization, which is also helping families in approximately 70 affected communities get back on their feet.

For more information, or to make a donation, visit officedepotfoundation.org.
To reach the National Disaster Help Desk for Business, call 1-888-MY-BIZ-HELP (888-692-4943), or email at BCLChelpdesk@uschamber.com