Stuff The Bus Nearly Here

Needed school supplies are stacked up in front of an Oskaloosa school bus Wednesday as 'Stuff the Bus' came to an end. (submitted photo)

Needed school supplies are stacked up in front of an Oskaloosa school bus. (submitted photo)

Oskaloosa, IA – It’s almost time to Stuff the Bus! – Operation Backpack collection boxes will begin to disappear from donation sites July 29th, but if you haven’t made your donation to the program yet, don’t worry! On Friday, July 29th, donation boxes will make their way to the North Hy-Vee parking lot, where community members will have another chance to donate supplies for Operation Backpack. From 11 AM to 1 PM, the OCSD Transportation Department will have one of the school buses at the location, and as more donations are dropped off, volunteers will literally stuff the bus with them!

In the weeks after Stuff the Bus, United Way, SIEDA, and Salvation Army volunteers will use the supplies to start putting backpacks together. In the past three years volunteers have put together and handed out around a thousand backpacks to needy students in the Oskaloosa area! These bags ensure the students are prepared and confident for the school year, and help them get more out of their education.

All Operation Backpack applications are due Friday, July 29th. Applications are available at United Way, Sieda, Love INC, Crisis Intervention Services, End of Month Meals locations, the Oskaloosa Shopper, and online at UnitedWayMahaska.org/opbackpack. All applications must be turned into SIEDA at 114 North Market Street in Oskaloosa on time to ensure your student gets a backpack. After all applications are processed, approved applicants will be contacted with a pick-up date and time. This year’s pickup dates will be August 15th-17th.

Events like Operation Backpack are only successful with the support of the entire community. Whether it’s donating or volunteering, both Operation Backpack and Stuff the Bus are great opportunities to make an impact in your Mahaska County community. If you would like to help prepare local students for school this year, or for more information on Operation Backpack and Stuff the Bus, please contact the United Way of Mahaska County at (641).673.6043 or send an email to uwmc.coordinator@gmail.com.

Visit any of these sites before Friday, July 29th to donate: Assembly of God Church, Cabelvey, Cargill, Central Reformed Chruch, Central United Methodist Church, Clow, Fareway, the Oskaloosa Farmers’ Market, Fellowship Bible Church, First Christian Church, Dollar General (Penn Central Mall), Gateway of the Nazarene Church, Hawkeye Real Estate/ Mahaska Title, Hy-Vee, Mahaska YMCA, Maple Ridge, MidWestOne Bank, Oskaloosa Vision Center, Smokey Row, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, TD&T Financial Group, and United Way of Mahaska County

Download a list of needed supply donations at UnitedWayMahaska.org/OpBackpack.

Posted by on Jul 21 2016. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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