The bell is about to ring, school will be in session, and localchildren will be heading back to school prepared to learn. 537 of those children were aided by our community that united to collect school supplies through United Way’s annual Stuff the Bus school supply drive. United Way of Montgomery, Radford and Floyd extends a HUGE thank you to the local New River Valley community for donating over 9,600 school supplies.
The United Way Stuff the Bus campaign saw widespread support from our community and served 537 children with school supplies! This year’s drive surpassed last year’s efforts, helping 59 additional children. Local businesses collected donations and served as convenient drop-off locations across the New River Valley, while residents dropped supplies in donation bins around the Valley and helped stuff buses during the Stuff the Bus event at Walmart in Christiansburg the last weekend in July.
Local non-profits Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program (MCEAP), Floyd County Emergency Assistance Program (FCEAP) and Radford Clothing Bank distributed school supplies to local children. In addition to backpacks filled with supplies being distributed through local non-profits, this year was United Way’s first year partnering with local schools to provide teachers with addition supplies to help in their classrooms throughout the entire year. United Way’s Programs Coordinator, Marcela Jara, organized this year’s Stuff the Bus program and shared her excitement for its growth. “It is incredibly rewarding to play a part in helping local children with school supplies. When I talk to struggling families, the thought of purchasing school supplies seems overwhelming to them. Working together as a community we provided more than a backpack of supplies to children, we offer children excitement about going to school and relief for parents who were worried about how they would afford those supplies!”
On behalf of the families and children served, United Way would like to express sincere
appreciation to each donor, volunteer, and partner charity that played a hand in the
success of this year’s Stuff the Bus school supply drive. For additional information or to
find out how you can help next year, please contact the United Way of Montgomery,
Radford and Floyd’s office at (540) 381-2066 or by email at info@unitedwaynrv.org.
