Stuff-a-Bus benefits children in need
Annual drive starts Monday at sites around Antelope Valley
LANCASTER — Beginning Monday and continuing through Dec. 12, the Antelope Valley Transit Authority Stuff-a-Bus Holiday Toy Drive will hold its annual collection of toys and clothing for the AV community’s children in need.
Santa’s helpers will be heard chanting “Stuff That Bus!” and ringing their bells to make sure the children and families they serve have a much brighter holiday season. Each year, the drive collects donations of new unwrapped toys, clothing and gifts for children ages 0-18.
For more than 28 years, this annual event has helped local children in need during the holidays by collecting enough toys and clothes to fill the AVTA’s specially decorated all-electric 40-foot bus to the roof.
There will be four Stuff-aBus collection event opportunities, this year, beginning with the BLVD Small Business, Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m., Nov. 26, on Lancaster Boulevard. Other events will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Dec. 4, at the Walmart Supercenter in Palmdale, 40130 10th St. West; A Magical BLVD Christmas from 5 to 9 p.m., on Dec. 10; and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Dec. 11, at the Walmart Supercenter in Lancaster, 44655 Valley Central Way.
A Stuff-a-Bus donation box is also at the AVTA office, 42210 Sixth St. West in Lancaster.
AVTA works with local charities to collect and distribute all toy and gift donations. Participating 2022 charities are the Children’s Bureau, Antelope Valley Partners for Health, the Child and Family Guidance Center, JustServe, Valley Oa
sis, the Boys & Girls Club of the Antelope Valley and the South Antelope Valley Emergency Services of Palmdale.
One hundred percent of donations will be distributed at the Holiday Drive-Thru Grocery and Toy Giveaway at AVTA, on Dec. 17. No sign-up is necessary and the event is open to all Antelope Valley Residents. Local families will receive Christmas meal supplies in addition to toys and gifts for their children. AVTA’s goal is to provide Christmas meals to the families of the Antelope Valley, as well as to the patrons of the Stuff-aBus participating charities.
Many local businesses helped AVTA raise more than $25,000 to help purchase toys and gifts for the holiday drive.
“The generosity of our major sponsors, such as Duke Engineering, BYD Motors, WAVE/Ideanomics, Palmdale Elementary Teachers Association, MCI/New Flyer, RentSource, Complete Coach Works, Mission Bank, Vinsa Insurance Associates, OpSec Security and High Desert Medical Group, make a huge impact in the lives of many local families,” AVTA Board Chairman Marvin Crist said. “We also want to thank DP Commercial Brokerages, Bayshore Consulting Group, Avail Technologies, AVEDGE, Kaiser Permanente, the Weideman Group and MV Transportation, whose contributions help make AVTA’s Stuff-a-Bus a huge success.”