This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
School is already under way for Utah students, but there are hundreds of children who still need a helping hand with school supplies for the coming year.
The United Way of Salt Lake is seeking volunteer to help fill backpacks with schools supplies for the organizations "Stuff the Bus" campaign, which provides more than 5,000 children in Davis, Salt Lake and Summit counties with essential items for school.
"Stuff the Bus" caps off a summer-long effort by the United Way to collect school supplies for low-income families. The "Stuff the Bus" campaign also ties into the United Way's Day of Caring event, which advocates for the importance of volunteering in communities.
The "Stuff the Bus" volunteer event will take place Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Gateway, 18 N. Rio Grande St., Salt Lake City, outside the Grand Hall (on the second level, between Thaifoon and Urban Outfitters).
Volunteers are needed to stuff backpacks with pens, pencils, glue, paper, notebooks, rulers and crayons. Help is also needed to package stuffed backpacks into boxes and sort and count bags for each school. Volunteers also can assist with loading backpacks onto school buses for delivery to neighborhood centers, where they will be distributed to children.
United Way Neighborhood Centers are housed within schools to help students improve academic achievement, reading scores and development and to offer financial stability and health programs to help parents and families.
No registration is necessary. For more information, contact Heather McDonald at 801-736-7715. —