Stuff the Bus Celebrated 20 Years
THE HISTORY
The Stuff the Bus campaign has changed and grown significantly throughout the course of 20 years. In 2001, Stuff the Bus started as a one-day school supply drive in the old Mt. Pleasant Kmart parking lot. From the supplies collected, about 80-100 backpacks were made and handed out at the Mt. Pleasant Community Services Fair.
The model changed in 2013 to a month-long collection drive at numerous locations, collecting thousands of school supplies and engaging hundreds of volunteers to help sort and distribute. From 2013-15, over 40,000 items were collected and donated to teachers!
In 2016, United Way of Isabella County merged with United Way of Gratiot County and our impact expanded into Gratiot County classrooms. We also migrated to a sponsorship model—allowing us to buy in bulk and maximize our donors dollars.
Stuff the Bus continued to develop and in 2019 we supplied every elementary school teacher with a $50 gift card and the top 3 most requested items (facial tissue, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes).
When the pandemic hit in 2020, supplies were limited and the model changed to a $75 gift card for each teacher to buy items based on the needs of their individual classrooms. We’re excited to do the same for this year’s Stuff the Bus Campaign!
Stuff the Bus has evolved from handing out 80 backpacks to children in need to a $38,000+ impact in Gratiot & Isabella Counties. What a difference 20 years can make, thank you for your continued support!
WATCH SUCCESS STORY VIDEO HIGHLIGHT:
Kim Bishop, Principal at Vowels Elementary talks about the importance of Stuff the Bus, and the impact it has on teachers in our community.
This initiative has always been centered around providing local teachers the opportunity to put supplies in the hands of kids that need them the most — focusing on children from lower-income families. Every year, our goal is to partner with businesses, organizations, and individuals to sponsor every elementary school classroom in both counties (nearly 500 classrooms). With your support, we were able to supply each elementary school teacher with a $75 gift card to be used for purchasing specific supplies catered to the needs of their individual classrooms.