In mid-July we gathered at Nissan Stadium to collect and distribute school supplies for thousands of students across our community. The riverside drop-off site buzzed with volunteers and local media as supporters arrived with loads of essential school supplies.
“You look around and there’s piles and piles of crayons and notebooks,” said Tiffany Thomson, our community impact manager for Robertson County. “People are so generous and it’s been really cool to see that.”
Each summer, our team rallies the community to join Stuff the Bus and help ensure kids are ready for school. Stuff the Bus is a vital initiative that helps local families prepare for the upcoming school year.
Emily Weiss joined our Day of Action along with colleagues from Ingram Industries, a leading United Way campaign partner. “My favorite part about Stuff the Bus is knowing that lots of children who might not otherwise have school supplies have everything that they need to get started on the right foot for school,” Emily said. We know the value of education is priceless, but back-to-school supplies come with a steep cost. Basic school supplies run parents an average of $200 per child. This cost is a significant barrier to families with tight budgets.
Corporate partners, community groups and individuals throughout our nine-county region filled backpacks and contributed dollars to our school supply drive so that 14,000 students have the tools to learn, create and grow. We applaud the following workplace teams for an incredible job with their packing events: HCA Healthcare (2,188 backpacks), Cat Financial (more than $11,000 raised), Nissan (650 backpacks) and Regions (600 backpacks)!
Stuff the Bus is a group effort that’s only possible thanks to expertise and resources from our sponsors—Tennessee Titans, Amazon, Mapco and Piedmont Natural Gas—and our partners: 6th Man Movers, Pepsi and UPS.
“We’ve been honored to find ways to align with United Way, to serve the community together,” said Burke Nihill, president and CEO of the Tennessee Titans. “We’ve been doing it for a long time and look forward to doing it for a long time too.”
It warms our hearts knowing that Stuff the Bus makes a difference for thousands of students … who will foster brighter futures for our community!