Several community agencies are collaborating for an event called "Stuff the Bus." The agencies are working together to collect backpacks and school supplies on Saturday, July 13th, and Sunday, July 14th, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The group will be collecting donations in school buses that will be stationed in the parking lots of Dillon’s East, 1305 E. Kansas Avenue, Dillon’s West, 1211 Buffalo Jones Avenue, Target, 2401 E Kansas Avenue, Walmart, 3101 E. Kansas Avenue, Walmart Neighborhood Market, 2424 N. Taylor Avenue, Staples, 2508 E Kansas Ave, and the Dollar General, 1505 N Jones Avenue, in Holcomb. Donations will also be accepted any time at the Finney County United Way, 1509 E. Fulton Terrace, and Salvation Army, 216 N. 9th Street.
The agencies are working to “stuff” the school buses full of school supplies so that every child in need will start the school year off with everything needed to have a successful school year. The goal is to get enough donations to fill 2,000 backpacks.
The distribution of the filled backpacks will be held on Thursday, July 25th, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Garfield Early Childhood Center, 121 West Walnut Street. People will need to bring proof of need to receive a backpack. There will also be a number of community organizations that will have booths set up at the event to provide information about their services.
The event coordinators will be looking for school supplies or monetary donations to assist with the filling of the backpacks including: glue sticks, white glue, large erasers, highlighters, watercolor paints, plastic school boxes, scissors (kid-sized), 24-count crayons, #2 pencils, pens (blue and black ink), spiral notebooks (wide and college ruled), notebook paper (wide and college ruled), two-pocket folders, dry erase markers, and white copy paper.