FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Stuff the Bus” Saturday with school supplies

United Way, Community Action support “Project School Tools” campaign

Chillicothe, OH (August 24, 2010)

Making sure every child is prepared for school is a big job! To get it done in Ross County, more than a dozen service agencies and civic organizations, along with many local employers and businesses, are working together to collect school supplies for an annual drive to help families in need.

“Project School Tools,” initiated and coordinated by Love, INC., helped more than 650 children last year. The goal this year is to provide school supplies for 700 or more children.  To help reach this goal, United Way and Ross County Community Action are sponsoring “Stuff the Bus”
school supplies collections this Saturday.

Yellow Head Start school buses will be parked at two collection sites – at Walmart near the grocery entrance and in Central Center near the Dollar General store – from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Shoppers will receive a list of suggested school supplies as they enter the stores. Volunteers will assist them in ‘stuffing’ the school bus with their donations. Others are invited to bring donations to these sites for easy, drive-through and drop-off collections.

Supplies needed include:

• Backpacks, lunch boxes, calculators, rulers, compasses, protractors
• Binders, folders, notebooks, filler paper, index cards, tissues, glue
• Pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils, crayons, erasers, scissors

“We are asking everyone to help this Saturday by simply donating a few school supplies while they’re out shopping,” said Mary Elsass, executive director, United Way of Ross County.   The donations will be taken to the Salvation Army where they will be distributed August 19, beginning at 10 a.m., to eligible families who will enjoy fun, games, food and entertainment.

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