Nonprofit Initiative Founded by The ODP
Corporation and Powered by Round It Up America® Awards Over 80 Cash
Grants, Funds Technical Assistance Programs and More
Elevate Together™ powered by Round It Up America®, a nonprofit
initiative founded by The ODP Corporation (NASDAQ:ODP), today
announced that nearly $2.3 million was raised during the program’s
inaugural year in support of its mission to help accelerate the
creation, growth and prosperity of Black- and Hispanic-owned small
businesses.
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the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220215005440/en/
Through partnerships with the National Urban League and the
United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Elevate Together™ was
designed to deliver education, access and aid to small businesses
with five employees or less. With an initial investment of
$250,000, The ODP Corporation helped launch the program in Atlanta,
Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, and
West Palm Beach. Throughout the year, local Urban League affiliates
and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce chapters in these markets received
technical assistance grants to provide eligible small business
owners with access to free workshops and bootcamps, professional
networks, mentorship services and more.
In 2021, 89 Black- and Hispanic-owned small businesses were
awarded cash grants, valued at $5,000 or $10,000, to help them
continue to innovate, grow and prosper. Selected businesses were
chosen based on established criteria created by local selection
committees and were evaluated based upon their proposed business
plans. Certified mentors from The Venture Mentoring Team were also
paired with many of these small businesses to provide advisory
support and help guide them on their entrepreneurial journeys.
“Becoming one of the small business grant recipients from the
Elevate Together™ initiative enabled us to hire additional staff,
secure a new delivery van, and make short-term investments to
hopefully expand our product line and open a second location,” said
Nadeige Sterlin, co-owner of La Paix Bakery in Miramar, Florida. “I
want to continue to pay it forward by sharing our story to help
inspire other Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs to keep reaching for
their dreams. If we all work together, we can collectively
strengthen our community long-term, while saving and creating more
local jobs in the short term.”
“The Elevate Together™ cash grant helped elevate COVEDOZA in
numerous ways,” said Elisa Molina, president, creative director and
chief executive officer of COVEDOZA, based in Atlanta, Georgia. “It
enabled us to invest in high-quality graphic design services to
create our first-ever digital and shoppable 2021 holiday gift
guide. We were able to revamp our entire homepage and invest in new
business equipment that will help us expand our product offerings
in 2022. Lastly, the mentorship has also been key in addressing key
areas of growth for the business.”
“Elevate Together™ was created to help address systemic
discrimination and historical racial disparities in business growth
and profitability in Black and Hispanic communities,” said Gerry
Smith, chief executive officer for The ODP Corporation. “We’re
inspired by the success stories from small business owners whose
lives we’ve touched through this program so far, and we hope to
continue building a coalition of like-minded companies to help
advance business creation and growth opportunities for Black and
Hispanic businesses for years to come.”
With support from community partners and corporate partners like
NCR Foundation, plus Office Depot and OfficeMax customers and
associates, the program will expand its reach in 2022 to provide
impactful, measurable and scalable support services and educational
opportunities to help small businesses grow in Dallas, Detroit,
Fort Worth, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix and beyond.
To learn more about Elevate Together™ powered by Round It Up
America®, including how to participate as a small business or
donate to the initiative to help drive change, please visit
www.elevatetogether.org.
About Elevate Together™
Elevate Together™ powered by Round It Up America® is a nonprofit
initiative designed to address systemic discrimination and
historical racial disparities in business growth and profitability
in Black and Hispanic communities. Through a partnership with the
National Urban League and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,
the initiative delivers education, access and aid to Black and
Hispanic small businesses. Founded by The ODP Corporation, Elevate
Together™ is supported by a coalition of like-minded companies with
a mission to strengthen our local communities, foster job creation,
and close the racial wealth gap. Learn more at
www.elevatetogether.org.
About The ODP Corporation
The ODP Corporation (NASDAQ:ODP) is a leading provider of
business services and supplies, products and digital workplace
technology solutions to small, medium and enterprise businesses,
through an integrated business-to-business (B2B) distribution
platform, which includes world-class supply chain and distribution
operations, dedicated sales professionals and technicians, online
presence, and approximately 1,100 stores. Through its banner brands
Office Depot®, OfficeMax®, ODP Business Solutions™, Varis™ and
Grand&Toy®, as well as others, the company offers its customers
the tools and resources they need to focus on their passion of
starting, growing and running their business. For more information,
visit news.theodpcorp.com and investor.theodpcorp.com.
ODP, ODP Business Solutions and Office Depot are trademarks of
The Office Club, Inc. OfficeMax is a trademark of OMX, Inc. Varis
is a trademark of Varis, LLC. Grand&Toy is a trademark of Grand
& Toy, LLC in Canada. ©2022 Office Depot, LLC. All rights
reserved. Any other product or company names mentioned herein are
the trademarks of their respective owners.
About Round It Up America®
Round It Up America (RIUA) is a non-profit organization that
provides participating businesses, known as RIUA Mission Partners,
the opportunity for customers to donate when paying their bill.
RIUA Mission Partners select their own charities based on causes
that are important to their organization, team members and
customers. Companies around the country are making a difference
through this powerful platform for charitable giving. For more
information, please visit www.rounditupamerica.org.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220215005440/en/
Danny Jovic
Media Relations
561-438-1594 Danny.Jovic@officedepot.com
Shera Bishop Media Relations 561-438-6027 Shera.Bishop@officedepot.com
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