Today is the last day for United Way of Western Nebraska’s “Stuff the Bus” drive for donations of school supplies for local children whose families might not be able to buy all the needed supplies.
Executive Director Karen Benzel says it’s exciting to again be collecting supplies after 2 years of taking only monetary donations primarily online.
The name Stuff the Bus came from the fact that the donation sites were buses parked in public locations. Benzel says there are 10 sites this year, all in buildings, with 2 each in Scottsbluff, Alliance, and Sidney. There are 2 sites in Dawes County.
Even before the pandemic, Stuff the Bus emphasized monetary contributions as well as donations of actual supplies. Benzel says the money goes directly to the local schools to help when a specific supply need such as a calculator arises.
Benzel says after two years of not collecting actual school supplies, it’s not surprising monetary donations are running ahead of donations of things such as crayons, colored pencils, and glue sticks.
Banzel says the donated supplies will be delivered to the various schools next week while monetary donations can continue to be made at the United Way of Western Nebraska website uwwn.org/bus
As always, supplies and money from Stuff the Bus stay in the community where they were given.