Tucson organizations teamed up Friday, Aug. 14, to collect school supplies for local students as families face the rising costs of preparing children for the new school year.
The Salvation Army Tucson All Nations Corps Community Center partnered with Sun Tran, the Tucson Fire Department and Walmart for its annual Stuff the Bus school supply drive at the Walmart Supercenter, 3435 E. Broadway Boulevard.
Community members purchased backpacks, notebooks, pencils, paper and other supplies and placed the donations aboard a Sun Tran bus parked outside the store. The Tucson Fire Department also participated, with firefighters greeting families, handing out supply lists and offering tours of a fire truck.
Kelli Beasley, public relations and community engagement manager for The Salvation Army Tucson, said the event is intended to ease some of the financial pressure families experience at the beginning of a school year.
“Stuff the Bus is a wonderful example of what can actually happen when our community comes together, because what it does is it brings families a little less stress for the people that cannot afford to buy these supplies for their kids,” Beasley said.
The event marked the second year Sun Tran and the Tucson Fire Department participated in the back-to-school drive, Beasley said. Sun Tran’s relationship with The Salvation Army extends further back through its participation in the organization’s annual Christmas toy drive.
Beasley said the Tucson Fire Department became involved after she spoke with department representatives while delivering doughnuts as part of another Salvation Army event.
“Sun Tran has been with us for many years because we do it every year down at the Walmart at the end of Speedway for our Christmas toy drive,” Beasley said. “When I mentioned it to them about the back-to-school, they were totally on board.”
The drive comes as the cost of school supplies presents challenges for some Tucson families.
Beasley said The Salvation Army regularly receives donated supplies at its offices, where staff and volunteers sort the items before placing them into backpacks. Receipts sometimes remain inside donated bags, giving staff a glimpse at what donors are paying.
“It blows all of our minds about how much they have gone up in price over the years,” Beasley said. “Everything has gone up in price.”
The Salvation Army sought a range of supplies during the drive, including backpacks, notebooks, composition books, pencils, pens, crayons, colored pencils, markers, glue sticks, scissors, folders, pencil boxes, highlighters, index cards, hand sanitizer, tissues, loose-leaf paper and three-ring binders.
Beasley said loose-leaf paper, backpacks and composition books were among the most-needed items.
Once collected, donations are taken to The Salvation Army’s Hospitality House, where volunteers sort the supplies and fill backpacks for distribution.
Families do not have to meet eligibility requirements to receive the backpacks, Beasley said.
“We don’t care who it is,” she said. “If they have 10 kids, it doesn’t matter. Bring them all in and let them pick out their own backpack with all the supplies in it.”
Families seeking supplies can visit the Hospitality House at 1002 N. Main Avenue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday while supplies remain available, Beasley said.
The organization did not set a specific goal for the number of students it hoped to assist through the drive.
“We really have never put a number on it,” Beasley said. “It’s hundreds.”
Stuff the Bus is one of several efforts The Salvation Army has undertaken to help Tucson-area students prepare for school.
Earlier this year, the organization held its Child Spree event, which paired children with volunteers to shop for school clothes at JCPenney. Children also received new shoes, socks and filled backpacks, Beasley said.
She said parents told organizers they would not have been able to purchase everything without the assistance.
The organization also held another Stuff the Bus event earlier this summer through its Amphi Corps before Friday’s event through the All Nations Corps.
Beasley said having an actual Sun Tran bus at the drives makes donating more engaging for children and gives the community a visual representation of how much has been collected.
“Sometimes we go through two Sun Tran buses, depending on how the event goes,” she said. “Sun Tran is willing to bring as many buses as it takes to pick up all these supplies.”
The Tucson Fire Department added another family-oriented element to Friday’s event. Firefighters handed out lists of requested supplies, spoke with shoppers and gave tours of a fire truck.
Organizers emphasized that donors did not need to purchase an entire backpack’s worth of supplies to participate.
“A lot of people just give us one or two items that come out of the store, and I don’t care if it’s one or two items or a complete case of something,” Beasley said. “We are so appreciative, and every little piece of what is donated matters.”
Beasley said providing students with new backpacks and supplies can have an effect beyond meeting their basic classroom needs.
“It gives them a sense of dignity, and they’re confident when they go,” she said. “That’s what is needed to have that when you go into school.”
She recalled an encounter during an earlier back-to-school event in which a veteran approached Salvation Army representatives with a case of bottled water. The man told them he did not know which school supplies to purchase but knew families could use the water.
“Capt. John and I were sitting there together, and we both just looked at each other with tears in our eyes,” Beasley said. “It’s just amazing. We will take anything because we can distribute anything to these people that are in need.”
Beasley said the interaction reflected what she has experienced from Tucson residents during her time working in the community.
“I’ve been in a lot of communities in my day, and the Tucson community is the most giving and generous community I’ve ever been in,” she said.
The Salvation Army also accepts monetary donations, including small contributions through its red kettles.
“Everything helps,” Beasley said. “It’s just amazing that the community comes together like it does.”
People who were unable to attend Friday’s event can continue donating school supplies at Salvation Army locations in Tucson, including the Hospitality House at 1002 N. Main Avenue and its other local corps locations. Donations can also be made through The Salvation Army Tucson’s website at salvationarmytucson.org.
