Transportation staff in Ohio and West Virginia fill school buses with hundreds of donated supplies to ensure students are prepared for the upcoming school year.
PHOTOS: Districts Host School Supply Drives for Students in Need
Jefferson County (W. Va.) Schools’ transportation department, in collaboration with a local Walmart, held its second annual “Stuff A Bus” event on Aug. 3. Photo courtesy Christopher Coffman
In Ohio, Beavercreek City Schools’ transportation staff hosted a two-day “Fill-the-Bus” event on Aug. 2 and Aug. 3 to gather items for local families that were affected by tornadoes that whipped through the city in May.
By the event's end, the team had collected enough items to fill one of the district’s elementary school gymnasiums.
Heather Pindell, a bus driver with the district, started the event last year as an effort to collect donated backpacks and school supplies for students in need.
This year, the transportation department was able to collect more than 1,500 items, including 161 backpacks stuffed with other student necessities.
The department teamed up with a Facebook group, Beavercreek Tornado Network, to coordinate efforts for the event, including the creation of the signs shown above.
One of the district's buses was filled with a variety of school supplies, such as notebooks, pencils, paper, binders, and backpacks.
Students and their families were able to pick up the donated supplies during a "Fill-the-Backpack" event on Aug. 4. The backpacks were provided by the transportation team and the Beavercreek Tornado Network. Photo courtesy U.S. Rep. Rick Perales