United Way of SLO County’s 11th Annual Stuff the Bus School Supply Drive is officially underway. Stuff the Bus begins next week so it’s not too late to help out. United Way needs more volunteers, sponsors and collection sites! United Way of San Luis Obispo is recruiting businesses to host Workplace Collection Sites, or to be a cash sponsor and needs up to 80 more volunteers countywide. United Way invites you (or a Team) to volunteer with United Way this summer to help them STUFF THE BUS! Volunteer opportunities include: greeters, donation collectors, sorters, site coordinators and a set-up crew at each site.
Many local students and teachers are in need of the supplies necessary to begin the year successfully. Last year over 3,000 SLO County students in need received donated supplies, but there were about 1,000 students who still needed supplies. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) the average planned spending per household for back-to-school shoppers this year is the highest ever recorded by NRF at $696.70. This puts added stress on youth and families, especially the 30% of households in SLO County that are below the Real Cost Measure. The Real Cost Measure 2019 is a report developed by United Ways of CA. The Real Cost Measure (RCM) estimates the amount of income required to meet basic needs. To find out more visit www.unitedwaysca.org/realcost.
Businesses, groups, and individuals are also invited to become a Stuff the Bus sponsor or to host a Workplace Collection Site where the public can drop off donated school supplies that students need to succeed. Join United Way of San Luis Obispo County and KSBY to help others in our community by partnering with them to ‘Stuff the Bus’.
From August 9th-11th, the following locations in SLO County will have a bus on-site and will accept donations of new school supplies from 12:00pm-6:00pm daily:
- Walmart-Arroyo Grande
- Staples-San Luis Obispo
- Kmart-Atascadero
- Cookie Crock-Cambria
- Staples & Walmart-Paso Robles
Volunteer Site Leaders and 6-7 volunteers per shift are needed to set up, and accept donations on Friday, Saturday and Sunday beginning at 10am. There are 3 volunteer shifts available at all locations countywide:
For more information on becoming a Stuff the Bus partner call 805-541-1234 or visit United Way’s website www.unitedwayslo.org/stuffthebus. To sign up to volunteer visit www.volunteerslo.org/stuffthebus. To donate to Stuff the Bus school supply donation drive visit unitedwayslo.org/stuffthebus or text “STUFFIT” to 44321.