STUFF THE BUS
Fundraiser to take advantage of tax-free weekend
Volunteers from Mountain Pine, Lake Hamilton, Cutter Morning Star, Lakeside, Hot Springs, Jessieville and Fountain Lake School District will gather at all three area Walmart Supercenters Saturday to help students in need of school supplies as part of the United Way of the Ouachitas’ annual Stuff the Bus fundraiser.
“It’s part of our mission. One of our focal points is education, so this fits perfectly,” UWO Associate Director Katie Gibson said.
The event coincides with the state’s 2019 tax-free weekend. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and ending at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, the sales tax holiday allows shoppers the opportunity to purchase certain school supplies, school art supplies,
school instructional materials and clothing free of state and local sales or use taxes. All retailers are required to participate, and are not allowed to charge tax on items that are legally tax exempt during this time, according to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration website.
Exempt clothing “includes all human wearing apparel suitable for general use,” less than $100 per item, while clothing accessories or equipment that are “incidental” and “worn on the person or in conjunction with ‘clothing,’” under $50 per item are also exempt.
Tax exempt school supply items include binders, book bags, calculators, crayons, eraser, folders, lunch boxes, markers, notebooks, various papers, pencils, pens, rulers, scissors and more. Tax exempt art supply items include certain paints, sketch and drawing pads, clays, glazes and paintbrushes for artwork. Exempt school instructional materials include reference books, reference maps, globes, textbooks and workbooks.
A complete list of tax exempt items is available at https://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/ images/uploads/exciseTaxOffice/HolidayItemized.pdf. School districts of Garland County and the United Way of the Ouachitas intend to take full advantage of the holiday, and hope to exceed last year’s donations of over 6,000 items and $1,300 in monetary contributions.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., volunteers from Mountain Pine and Lake Hamilton Schools will be at the 1601 Albert Pike location; Cutter Morning Star, Lakeside, and Hot Springs Schools volunteers will be at 4109 Central Ave. location; and Jessieville and Fountain Lake Schools volunteers will be at the 3604 Highway 7 north location.
“We’ve had cheerleaders, we’ve had football teams, we’ve had drama teams, we’ve had multiple clubs. They come, and they are always decked out in their school paraphernalia. They’re very proud to support their school,” UWO Director Sarah Fowler said.
Volunteers will distribute itemized school supply lists in both English and Spanish to incoming Walmart shoppers, requesting that they purchase extra supplies if possible.
“One of the things we noticed is how much school supplies cost. When I was at Office Depot the other day, the backpacks cost like $70. I don’t know how families can do that. And what if you have more than one child?,” Gibson said. “There’s just always need. And the teacher were paying for it out of their own pocket. So we want to make sure every kid has everything they need.”
Donated supplies are to be sorted and divided evenly among the schools, counted, boxed and placed on the buses. Following the conclusion of the event, the buses will return to their districts, where counselors and teaches will receive the supplies. There will be one bus per school at the event.
“If there’s an abundance of school supply donations, the teachers and counselors can always hold those back in their closet, so to speak, so as a need arises with the student they can help,” Fowler said.
Some of this year’s most-needed items include backpacks, lunchboxes, hand sanitizer, tissues, wet wipes and other sanitary supplies, Fowler said, noting readyto eat snack items, clothing items, and personal care items such as deodorant and sanitary pads/tampons are also welcome.
Volunteers are still needed at the Hot Springs Village and Albert Pike Walmarts. Fowler and Gibson urged anyone interested to call 1-501623-2505 or visit https://www. unitedwayouachitas.org/ stuff-bus-volunteer-roster to register to volunteer.
“We depend heavily on volunteers. There’s no way we could do this without them,” Gibson said.
“It’s a way for the whole community to help. It doesn’t matter where you live, what school district you’re in, go to Walmart. Buy an extra package of crayons. It helps the students. They’re kids. They just need help. Everybody can help. It’s not out of anyone’s price range to afford one package of pencils.”
Fowler said the generosity exhibited by individuals is always heartwarming and encouraging.
“We’ve had people buy one package of pencils, or a bottle of glue, or a notebook, and apologize that that’s all they were able to donate. You want to talk about a humbling volunteer opportunity,” she said.
UWO has been holding the event intermittently for nearly 15 years. This year, the organization has received school supply and Stuff the Bus donations and contributions from several organizations, including Arkansas Workforce Services, Berry Plastics Corp., the Garland County Library, Levi Towers, Abilities Unlimited and Wheeler Printing Company, and Chick-fil-A will be feeding Stuff the Bus volunteers at the Central Avenue location.
“We want to thank everybody. They say it takes a village. Well, this event truly is a village effort,” Fowler said.