On Tuesday, August 4, the Stuff the Bus school supply drive concluded with a celebration as volunteers stuffed school busses and trucks at Char-Broil.  United Way will distribute 2,277 filled backpacks and 100 boxes of additional school supplies to 12, K-2 Title 1 schools in Columbus, Phenix City and Russell County.

Stuff the Bus, a school supply drive for local youth in need, officially kicked off Tuesday, June 16th. This is the 2^nd year that United Way partnered with Columbus GA Young Professionals, corporate partners and the community at large to donate, collect, sort and distribute school supplies to at-risk youth. 

By the 3rd grade, if a child has difficulty reading, that child is less likely to graduate from high school.

Every student should have the necessary school supplies to enter the school year better prepared to learn, but with a number of families in the Chattahoochee Valley living in poverty, some can’t afford the necessary materials. 

“We partnered again with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals, 31 local companies, Malone Office Environment, and Publix to collect school supplies,” said Scott Ferguson, president & CEO of United Way.  “The outpouring of support has been inspirational, because of the monetary assistance and hundreds of hours put in from caring volunteers that collected and sorted thousands of donated supplies. It makes me proud to be a part of such an impactful project.”

“We are so grateful for this opportunity for schools to benefit by allowing kids to have a chance to get school support in our area,” said Shuvon E. Ray, Phenix City Elementary School Principal.  “Phenix City Elementary School supports United Way and we are excited to be a part of this supply drive.  We donate and volunteer in our community and to benefit from Stuff the Bus is an exceptional gift.”

Stuff the Bus was a great success because of our corporate partners. Char-Broil and the Central Activity Center in Phenix City donated space to store and sort supplies; Malone’s promoted Stuff the Bus to all customers; Cott Beverage provided the bins used at collection sites for school supplies; Two Men and a Truck donated boxes and trucks; TSYS donated 1,173 filled backpacks; Snyder’s-Lance donated 864 backpacks; and Publix Supermarkets asked customers to make monetary donations at their stores.