A heartfelt thank-you to all who donated, volunteered, sponsored, collected, and distributed as part of United Way's annual Stuff the Bus school supply drive.
By Amy Hicks, Executive Director
On behalf of United Way of Franklin County, I’m sending out a big thank you to the many people and businesses that helped ensure Stuff the Bus, our annual school supply drive, was a success this year. With five school districts across Franklin County in our service area, our hope for this event is to get needed supplies into classrooms where children and teachers can use them. The helps ease the burden for many educators and families as schools go back in session.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to the many donors that provided donations and school supplies to benefit this effort. Our 2021 Stuff the Bus drive raised $20,226.40 in donations and supplies, which we distributed directly to the five school districts.
We also want to thank Chambersburg Area School District, Fannett-Metal School District, Greencastle-Antrim School District, Tuscarora School District, and Waynesboro Area School District for their assistance getting these supplies to where they are needed most. Sometimes this means placing supplies directly in classrooms to provide kids equitable access to learning materials. Other times it means setting aside a special supply to distribute to kids as needed, whose families may not be able to afford all the tools their child needs. We believe this project best serves our students by equipping our schools directly. We want to thank the many teachers who will work with the students in the coming months to put these tools to use.
Thank you to the sponsors who helped cover the costs of materials and event coordination for this massive county-wide drive. Creative Minds Learning and Development Centers, 11/30 Network, Patriot Federal Credit Union, Procter and Gamble, and Luminest Community Development all provided funding to support this effort.
Without our volunteers, Stuff the Bus would not be possible! We are extremely grateful for these dedicated volunteers that joined our staff team to collect donations, organize and count supplies, and make deliveries: Roseann Davidyock, Evie Gray, Adam Hasan, Pam Johns, Keri Kenney, Debbie Ott, Sabeen Safi, Joann Williams, Marvin Womack, and Robin Yaure.
Special thanks to Fannett-Metal Fire Co., Brio Coffeehouses, and One North Coffee Shop and Bakery for hosting drop-off locations in their respective communities. Also, a big shout out to Shawn Weaver and Weaver Bus Company for carrying our team and supplies through the Path Valley Parade with his brand-new school bus!
As we enter another school year, we are proud to see the community come together, once again, in an effort like this to support education. Thanks for all you do to make our community brighter.