For the City Times

The United Way’s annual Stuff the School Bus in south Wood County saw thousands of donated school supplies and hundreds of people at Veteran’s Memorial Park during Lunch by the River on Thursday afternoon.

Stuff the School Bus is a collaborative effort of several local non-profit, government and school agencies including the Boys and Girls Club of the Wisconsin Rapids Area, Caring Closet, The Family Center, Inc., Nekoosa School District, Port Edwards School District, the UW Extension Office, United Way of Inner Wisconsin and Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools.

Every year, the Stuff the School Bus/Stuff the Desk Committee asks the community to stuff a school bus with donations of school supplies.   The event is held during Lunch by the River.  Later, the donated school supplies are distributed to local students in need during the Stuff the Desk event.  All families who are in financial need are eligible.

Items that are especially needed include  backpacks, 1 inch binders, loose leaf paper, plain colored notebooks and folders, pencil boxes, pencils, pens, red pens, colored pencils, markers, crayons, highlighters, watercolor sets, calculators, pink erasers, pencil top erasers, rulers, compasses, scissors, glue sticks and glue.

Items that are especially needed include  backpacks, 1 inch binders, loose leaf paper, plain colored notebooks and folders, pencil boxes, pencils, pens, red pens, colored pencils, markers, crayons, highlighters, watercolor sets, calculators, pink erasers, pencil top erasers, rulers, compasses, scissors, glue sticks and glue.

Monetary donations are also accepted, and will be used to purchase additional supplies.  Checks can be written to “Stuff the Bus/Stuff the Desk” and mailed to:

Stuff the Bus/Stuff the Desk
c/o United Way of Inner Wisconsin
351 Oak Street,
Wisconsin Rapids, WI  54494

School supplies will be distributed at the Stuff the Desk event, which will be held Saturday, August 15, 2015 from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Lincoln High School.  Stuff the Desk is open to children and youth in grades 4k through 12 enrolled in Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools, Port Edwards School District, Nekoosa Public Schools and surrounding south Wood County public and parochial schools.  Any family who is in financial need qualifies.

Families who pre-registered will receive a postcard in the mail with their time-slots; families who have not pre-registered can attend at 11:00 AM.  Families are asked to please bring a canned food item, to be donated to local food pantries. This is optional and no one will be turned away due to inability to donate a canned food item. Students need not be present. We encourage students to use backpacks for more than one year.

Spanish and Hmong translators will be present for those who need their services.