Campaign provides supplies to students

As the new academic year approaches and families gear up to send their children back to school, United Way of the Ouachitas will seek to ease the financial burden of purchasing school supplies with its Stuff the Bus campaign from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 5.

United Way of the Ouachitas Executive Director Jane Browning said the goal is for each of the seven local school districts to park a bus at one of the three Walmart Supercenters in Hot Springs on the day of the event and return the bus to school at the end of the day full of supplies.

“We divide everything equally

among the seven school districts. It’s the only way we figure that we can be completely fair from our perspective,” Browning said. Donations will benefit the Cutter Morning Star, Fountain Lake, Hot Springs, Jessieville, Lake Hamilton, Lakeside, and Mountain Pine school districts.

Teams of volunteers will collect donated school supplies at each of the Walmart Supercenters located at 4019 Central Ave., 1601 Albert Pike Road, and 3604 Highway 7 north.

Not all of the school districts are financially able to provide supplies to their students as school begins, but even in those districts that do, backup supplies are needed for the rest of the year.

“Some of the school districts have enough money of their own that they start the kids out with the provisions themselves. I want to say Lakeside, Lake Hamilton and Hot Springs school districts all do that, but the smaller school districts just can’t,” Browning said.

“We spoke to Anne Gentry, who is the chief counselor over at Hot Springs School District, and she said they do provide school supplies to start the year out, but by the middle of October, kids are looking for replacement supplies so they just put things aside,” she said.

United Way of the Ouachitas collected 11,000 items and approximately $2,000 in monetary donations at last year’s Stuff the Bus event.

Browning said some individuals prefer to donate cash and the schools can convert the cash contributions into items they need throughout the school year.

“It doesn’t have to be just all pencils and paper,” Browning added. “I think that backpacks are a huge item. You just can’t very well go to school without one, and they’re a little bit more expensive. It’s easier to buy a box of crayons than it is a backpack, so we encourage people to think about buying that backpack.”

Shoppers will also be able to take advantage of Arkansas’ taxfree weekend during the Stuff the Bus event.

“Stuff the Bus creates an even playing field for children of all backgrounds to have a successful year at school. Education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty so prevalent in the Ouachita region,” Browning said in a news release.

Email jane.browning@unitedway.org for more information.