Efforts are under way to collect and distribute school supplies to Pasco County teachers through the sixth annual Stuff the Bus campaign.
The goal is to provide supplies to fulfill requests by Pasco County teachers.
“Over 1,000 teachers have signed up for their supplies,” Melinda Velez, manager of Community Impact Initiatives for the United Way of Pasco, said via email.
“We are in need of volunteers for many shifts,” she added.
(Courtesy of United Way of Pasco)
Besides helping teachers, the annual campaign provides a good way for students to get volunteer hours, and it’s a great family friendly volunteer project, Velez says.
The effort requires volunteers to help with the pack, sort and distribution duties.
Donations will be accepted from July 29 through July 31, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
They will be collected at these Walmart sites: Land O’ Lakes Boulevard in Lutz, State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel, Gall Boulevard in Zephyrhills; U.S. 19 in Hudson, State Road 54 in New Port Richey and U.S. 19 in Port Richey.
Items that are needed include No. 2 pencils, mechanical pencils, crayons, red and blue pens, washable markers, permanent markers, highlighters, rulers, spiral notebooks, dry erase markers, glue sticks, pencil sharpeners, pencil cap erasers, binders and composition notebooks.
At the donation sites, volunteers will:
- Hand out a shopping supply list
- Collect school supply donations
- Stuff the donations in the bus
- Help to sort and organize the supplies in the bus
The volunteer shifts at the donation sites are for three hours, either from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., or from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
This work will be done outdoors, so be sure to dress appropriately for the weather and wear sunscreen and a hat. It’s also a good idea to bring a cooler to keep your drinks cold. Water bottles will be provided on the bus.
Packing and sorting will be from Aug. 1 through Aug. 3.
Volunteers signing up to help with packing and distribution will work in four-hour shifts at Ridgewood High School, at 7650 Orchid Lake Road in New Port Richey. The work will be done indoors, in the school’s cafeteria and media center.
For more information, go to Facebook.com/UnitedWayPasco. If you’d like to help, visit tiny.cc/2016StuffTheBus.
Published July 20, 2016
