Employees at Judson Independent School District’s transportation department in Live Oak, Texas, come together to form “The Yellow Santa” during the holidays and plan festivals for students in the community, along with other work.

Quite often during this time of year, we hear about work that pupil transportation officials across the country are doing to help those in need.

While this not only points to the caring and thoughtful nature of the individuals who work in the industry, I think it supports the spirit of the season. Here, I’ll share with you details on a few efforts that I learned of recently.  

A group of employees at Judson Independent School District’s transportation department in Live Oak, Texas, come together to form “The Yellow Santa” during the holidays and “The Yellow Brigade” during the school year.

“We give our time to volunteer in the community,” Michelle Kern, president of The Yellow Brigade, told me. “We do a yearly food drive for The San Antonio Food Bank and we have raised well over 2,000 pounds of food and $1,000. We also visit nursing homes, plan festivals for the students in our community, and we help Habitat for Humanity.”

Moreover, school bus contractor Durham School Services held “Stuff the Bus” events on Nov. 25 and Dec. 3. More than 400 toy, clothing and food items were collected for students ages 3 to 14 in Belleville (Ill.) School District 118.

Durham has been providing special-needs transportation for Belleville School District 118 for eight years. This year’s “Stuff the Bus” events were organized as part of the company’s Adopt-a-School program, which encourages employees to volunteer and make a difference in the communities and schools they serve.

Melissa Taylor, director of special education for Belleville School District 118, said that the district is grateful to Durham School Services, its employees and the community for “working together to help make Christmas wishes come true for our students in need.”
 
In our General Interest forum, I read information on how to support The Raymond Project. Forum member kd4jfd said that people can participate by checking with your school system administrators and choosing a family in need.

Collect or buy clothing for the family — kd4jfd also suggested checking with your local Laundromats for good used clothing that has been left behind — and then hand it over to the administrator to give to the family, or do it yourself.

Other forum members responded to kd4jfd’s post and discussed similar contributions they have made to needy families.

Does your operation organize projects to help those in need during the holidays (or at any time during the year)? If so, I’d like to read about them. Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@schoolbusfleet.com.

Until next time,

Kelly Roher
Managing Editor