Brandon, Lithia & Sun City "Stuff the Bus"

I had read an advertisement about "Stuff the Bus" and was curious about this community event that stretches from the Brandon area south to Sun City Center. So I called local Kiwanis President Dustie Amatangelo to get the scoop.

"Stuff the Bus will be a welcomed relief to administration, educators and countless families touched by the great support of our community," said Dustie Amatangelo. "Providing these necessary school supplies will allow teachers to focus on teaching during the first few days of school, rather than trying to help the students find the basic supplies."

On August 7th local businesses and people from the community are invited to Kmart on Hwy 60 in Brandon to "Stuff" a bus with the school supplies.

"Parents usually need to spend approximately $100 per child on back-to-school supplies," said Seel Lundy, president of the Kiwanis Club of Sun City Center. "Teachers report that some students don't show up the first few days of school because they don't have the supplies expected of them."

Supplies being collected include student supplies such as notebook paper, (wide & college rule), spiral notebooks, #2 pencils, pens, crayons, scissors(blunt & regular), glue, colored pencils, rulers, composition books, protractors, pocket folders, pocket folders with clasps, and backpacks (small & large) as well as teaching supplies such as dry erase markers, color pens, copy paper, markers, reward stickers, and more.

On August the 7th the stuffed bus will take all the donations to Cornerstone Church on Parsons Ave. Simultaneously, volunteers from East Hillsborough will begin to gather all of the collection bins from all of the drop points to bring back to the church as well. The donations will be sorted and divided and additional volunteers will deliver the school supplies to the area schools. The principals for each school will determine which students, based on need, will receive the school supplies.

For a complete list of supplies needed and drop off points go to "Stuff the Bus" at the Brandon Kiwanis Club web site at: http://brandonkiwanis.org/index.php

Rick Frissell