More than 22,000 back-to-school packages donated through Stuff the Bus

 

story info and photos submitted by Brittany Ransom, marketing director of the United Way of Fort Smith Area

It was another warm weather weekend but that didn’t keep United Way from stuffing buses with school supplies. Supplies were collected for the 6th annual Stuff the Bus drive on Friday, July 23 and Saturday July 24 at Walmart stores in Alma, Booneville, Fort Smith, Greenwood, Ozark, Paris, Sallisaw and Van Buren.

The United Way reported Tuesday (July 27) that more than 22,000 packages of school supplies were donated, with “several thousand more supplies” yet to be counted.

Items donated included pens, pencils, paper, crayons, scissors, glue, notebooks, backpacks, kindergarten mats and many other items. Supply lists were handed out at each location and were also posted inside each store at the supply kiosks. The drive was held in conjunction with Walmart’s annual back to school sale.

“We are so grateful to each of the volunteers and to the generous donors who helped make this year’s event another great success,” Sarah Fowler, United Way resource development director, said in a statement. “This event has become synonymous with back to school in our area and thousands of needy children benefit from it. United Way is proud to help in getting those children’s school year off to a better start.”

Volunteers worked shifts on Friday and Saturday helping to hand out flyers and count and sort supplies. The event lasted from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Many area businesses also collected supplies at their offices including Golden Living, Kraft/Planters, Liberty Bank, Mosley Abstract, Owens-Corning and Weldon, Williams & Lick.

“I have enjoyed working this event for the past two years,” said Autumn Darden, with ABF Freight System. “It allows me to see first-hand how generous our community is. People light up when they hand you a bag of supplies or wheel off an entire cart of items to donate. It makes me proud to be a part of this wonderful event.”

All of the supplies collected are distributed to school districts and partner agencies throughout United Way’s six-county service area. A special thank you to Walmart for allowing United Way to host this event at its stores throughout the region.

United Way of Fort Smith Area serves Crawford, Franklin, Logan and Sebastian counties in Arkansas and LeFlore and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma. Its mission is to improve lives by connecting people and resources in its six-county area.