by Lisa Lyons

Staples, one of the largest suppliers of office products nationwide, has kicked off  “Give. Hope.” – a national fundraising initiative to benefit City of Hope. The effort aims to raise more than $5 million.

Staples is a member of the National Office Products Industry (NOPI), a longtime support group for City of Hope. As part of NOPI’s annual fundraising campaign, Ron Sargent, chairman and chief executive officer of Staples Inc., will be presented with The Spirit of Life¨ Award at a gala dinner in Chicago on Sept. 28. 

“I take great pride in our affiliation with City of Hope and the pioneering research they are doing to find cures for cancer and other life-threatening diseases,” said Sargent.

The “Give. Hope.” campaign consists of two major in-store components. During the first quarter of this year, Staples customers who donated $1 to City of Hope received a “scratch card” representing a product coupon redeemable during the customer’s next visit. This component of the campaign raised nearly $800,000 as of April.

In the second part of the promotion, which will run from April 1 to June 30, customers donating $2 to City of Hope will receive decorative paper clips that also can be used as lapel pins or bookmarks.

Other successful industry fundraising activities include auctioning the use of the Staples corporate suite at the Staples Center for various events and concerts through e-Bay. Several golf outings also are scheduled this year. To date, the suite auctions have produced $53,000 and the golf events are expected to generate over $2.5 million for City of Hope in 2006.

Sargent, who recently toured campus with more than 90 NOPI members escorted by Michael Friedman, M.D., president and CEO of City of Hope, credits his Staples executive management team for the tremendous success of the various campaigns. Personal involvement by NOPI members inspires him most regarding the group, Sargent said.

“We are proud of the several million dollars we will raise through our industry campaign, but prouder still of the deep commitment of our people,” commented Sargent. “Success isn’t just measured in dollars - it’s the impact you have in people’s lives. Staples supports City of Hope because we want to do something more than increase earnings per share. We want to make a difference in people’s lives around the world.”