Helping Our Teachers Help Our Students
In 2007, United Way of Hernando County brought on the Annual Stuff the Bus program. For one weekend during the Summer, United Way of Hernando County, along with the Hernando County Transportation Department, places multiple buses throughout the community at participating locations. These school buses are manned with dedicated teachers and volunteers welcoming donated school supplies for Hernando County classrooms. This event brings much needed supplies to teachers and their students.
2023's Stuff the Bus
2022's Stuff the Bus
As many schools, businesses, and organizations continue to evolve after two years of working through a pandemic, so shall our annual Stuff the Bus event. Although this year may look a little different, United Way is dedicated to streamlining their supply distribution. Stuff the Bus will actively take place Thursday, July 7th through Friday, July 15th at all (8) Hernando Publix Stores. Teacher Wish Lists and volunteer sign up will not be collected, however United Way will be distributing all collected supplies at the Hernando County School's "Welcome Back Kickoff" for 1,600 teachers at Crosspoint Church on August 3rd.
- See full announcement on 2022 Stuff the Bus changes by CLICKING HERE
- A list of suggested school supplies may be found by CLICKING HERE
- Volunteer Procedures
15th Annual Stuff the Bus:
Friday, July 16th, Saturday, July 17th, and Sunday, July 18th
Over the course of the Stuff the Bus weekend, 97 teachers from 21 Hernando Schools volunteered their time and collected over 6,359 lbs. of school supplies, including 1,186 boxes of crayons, 989 highlighters, and 1,304 packs of loose leaf paper. Altogether, volunteers logged 450 hours between collecting donations at Publix, and unloading, sorting, counting, and dividing up the items at the Lake House the following week. Along with the collected donations, community members could also donate items online through Roonga.com.
Download the 2021 Stuff the Bus Results flyer here.
2020: Stuffing the Bus in a World with COVID
The event quickly and effectively shifted to a virtual platform on Roonga.com, where donors could shop for school supplies safely from their homes and have them delivered right to United Way’s door. All 8 Hernando Publix stores also participated with Stuff the Bus by hosting a drop box to collect school supplies for those who still wished to shop in-person. Thank you to the Hernando County Transportation Department for lending two buses and a helping hand to load, unload, and help deliver supplies to all 23 Hernando schools.
Teachers and school faculty were thrilled to receive boxes of items for their supply closets. The items will be distributed by school administration throughout the year to where they are needed the most, thereby providing the necessary tools that students need to succeed.
Thank you to our Partners in Education, Publix Super Markets for coordinating drop-off boxes for in-person donation, and for dropping off the collected supplies to the United Way office. A special thank you goes to Hernando County residents for continuing to LIVE UNITED by supporting local classrooms during an uncertain time.
Read more about the success of United Way's 14th Annual Stuff the Bus here.
