United Way of Greater Nashville is asking the community to help provide school supplies for 15,000 local students through its 18th Annual Stuff the Bus drive.
Corporate partners and hundreds of community volunteers will gather at Nissan Stadium on July 14 and 15 to sort donations and pack backpacks with essential school supplies. United Way of Greater Nashville will then work with local organizations to distribute the supplies to elementary students at more than 50 schools across Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Hickman, Houston, Montgomery, Robertson, Stewart, Sumner, and Williamson counties.
This year’s goal is to fill 15,000 backpacks for students across the organization’s service area. The documented need is even greater, with an estimated 18,688 students in need of support, based on Title I school enrollment and the percentage of children experiencing food insecurity, using information from the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth and the Tennessee Department of Education.
Since Stuff the Bus began, more than 137,000 students have received the supplies they need to begin the school year prepared and confident. If this year’s goal is reached, the program will have served 152,000 students across the region.
Why Community Support Is Needed
School supplies and educational materials cost nearly 10% more than they did one year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. Those rising costs place additional pressure on families already managing housing, food, childcare, and other expenses.
For families struggling to make ends meet, buying school supplies can mean making difficult choices about other basic needs. Stuff the Bus helps make sure students have the materials they need to begin the school year ready to learn.
How You Can Help Stuff the Bus
Community members can support Stuff the Bus by making a monetary donation online or purchasing school supplies from the current supply list. Financial contributions help cover the difference between donated items and what students still need, helping more children begin the school year prepared to succeed.
School supplies can be donated in person at Nissan Stadium on Tuesday, July 14, from 9 am to 11 am.
To review the supply list, make a donation, or learn more, visit the United Way of Greater Nashville Stuff the Bus page.
Stuff the Bus is sponsored by the Tennessee Titans, Amazon, Asurion, Atmos Energy, Costco, Cummins, Earl Swensson Associates, EY, Ingram, Lifepoint Health, Publix Charities, Regions, 6th Man Movers, Spire, UPS, Veritiv, Waste Management Services, and Hands On powered by United Way of Greater Nashville.
