More than 44,000 Packages Donated in River Valley's Stuff the Bus | Business

Even in the record heat last weekend, volunteers from United Way of Fort Smith Area were out stuffing the bus with school supplies. Supplies were collected for the 8th annual Stuff the Bus drive on Friday, August 3rd and Saturday August 4th at Walmart stores in Alma, Booneville, Fort Smith, Greenwood, Ozark, Paris, Poteau, Sallisaw and Van Buren. Over 44,000 packages of supplies were collected!

Items donated included pens, pencils, paper, crayons, scissors, glue, notebooks, backpacks, kindergarten mats and many other items. The drive was held in conjunction with the tax-free weekend.

“Many families cannot afford school supplies for their children, and this presents a serious challenge for teachers and school districts, said Tom Minton, Executive Director of United Way of Fort Smith Area. The donated supplies help to raise the quality of education children receive and also help to raise a child’s self esteem. United Way is grateful to each of the volunteers and to the generous donors who helped make this year’s event another great success,”
Volunteers worked shifts on Friday and Saturday helping to hand out flyers and count and sort supplies. The event lasted from 9 am to 9 pm on Friday and from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday. Many area businesses also collected supplies at their offices including Golden Living, Weldon, Williams & Lick, Rheem, Kraft/Planters, Liberty Bank, Nestle-Gerber and Graphic Packaging.

All of the supplies collected are distributed to school districts and partner agencies throughout United Way’s six-county service area.

A special thank you to Walmart for allowing United Way to host this event at its stores throughout the region.
United Way of Fort Smith Area serves Crawford, Franklin, Logan and Sebastian counties in Arkansas and LeFlore and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma. Its mission is to improve lives by connecting people and resources in its six-county area.