The start of a new school year is just a few weeks away and United Way of the CSRA is asking for the community’s help to collect school supplies for local students in need. From now until July 29th, you can help alleviate some of the financial hardships associated with back-to-school shopping for local families by donating school supplies at our Stuff the Bus collection drives across the CSRA.

Stuff the Bus events include:
- Advanced Drop-off: Saturday, July 1st – Thursday, July 27th at WJBF Television Park or any Security

Federal Bank located in the CSRA
- Sunday, July 23rd at SRP Park
- Friday, July 28th at the Kroc Center
- Saturday, July 29th at Walmart in Waynesboro

Monetary donations can also be made online at www.uwcsra.org/2023-stuff-the-bus. The money received online will be used to purchase school supplies and distribute to local school districts.

“We’re always willing to step in to help set students up for success by hosting collection drives for in-demand school supplies,” says Brittany Burnett, President and CEO of United Way of the CSRA. “With inflation and the rising cost of supplies, families need help now more than ever.”

Last year, thanks to area businesses and members of our community, the Stuff the Bus events collected nearly 30,000 school supply items that were distributed to schools in Richmond, Columbia, Burke and surrounding counties in the CSRA.

The first Stuff the Bus collection drive event will take place on Sunday, July 23rd at SRP Park during the Augusta GreenJackets game. This event is in partnership with SRP Federal Credit Union, WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone, and the Augusta GreenJackets. For those fans who would like to donate to the event but cannot attend the July 23rd game, they can drop off donations in advance at the box office, Hive Pro Shop at SRP Park, or any SRP Federal Credit Union location in the CSRA through July 21st.

The second event will be at the Kroc Center on Friday, July 28th from 8 am to 12 pm, and all school supply items can be brought to this location during that time. The donated school supplies will be sorted, labeled, counted, and loaded onto buses by local volunteers and sent to school districts in Richmond, Columbia, and surrounding counties in the CSRA.

For more information, contact: Brittany Burnett, President and CEO United Way of the CSRA 706-922-8923/ [email protected]

The final Stuff the Bus event will be held to exclusively benefit Burke County students in need. On Saturday, July 29th, United Way of the CSRA will be at the Walmart in Waynesboro to collect school supply donations. Monetary donations can also be made at this time, which will be used to purchase additional supplies. The Pride of Burke County, the Burke County High School Marching Band, will be on site as local volunteers “stuff” a Burke County school bus that will be parked in front of Walmart.

If you’re unable to attend one of the collection events, you can still drop off school supply donations during the month of July, thanks to United Way of the CSRA’s partnership with WJBF and their Giving Your Best Partners, Piedmont Augusta, Solvay Specialty Polymers, and Security Federal Bank. Drop-off locations include WJBF NewsChannel 6 at Television Park located at 1336 Augusta West Parkway, or any of the Security Federal Bank locations in the CSRA.

United Way of the CSRA would like to thank our generous sponsors for supporting the 2023 Stuff the Bus collection drive: ADP, WJBF NewsChannel 6 and the Giving Your Best Partners, Piedmont Augusta, Solvay Specialty Polymers, Security Federal Bank, The Augusta GreenJackets, SRP Federal Credit Union, and WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone.