ATLANTA — This year’s Stuff the Bus may have looked a little different, but the annual event to send Atlanta’s homeless children back to school was a big success.
We collected a total of 1,825 backpacks and filled seven busses with school supplies to help the kids who need it the most in metro Atlanta. Nearly $7,000 has also been raised for Stuff the Bus online.
On Saturday, your favorite WSB-TV personalities and some awesome volunteers held events all over the city to collect supplies at the annual drive.
An additional online fundraiser will run from July 25 to Aug. 9 at gagives.org/stuffthebus.
Cars lined up to donate items like backpacks, pencils, marker and more. One woman said she was donating in honor of her late father, who used to stuff the bus every year.
“He passed away in January, so we wanted to continue that,” she said.
A volunteer at the WSB-TV collection site had a very special connection to the Stuff the Bus event. Billy was a foster child himself and received donated school supplies.
“The program has meant a lot of me. You know, at school, getting a backpack, supplies,” he said. “It just gave me that confidence you need to make it through the school year, and now, I’m trying to give back.”
This year, the annual event will help children in more than 130 shelters and group homes.
On any given night in greater Atlanta, there are 3,000 homeless children and teens living in a group home. The goal is to provide these children with new backpacks and the school supplies they need to succeed in the classroom.
[SPECIAL SECTION: Channel 2′s complete guide for back to school 2021 in north Georgia]
Stuff the Bus is a partnership with the nonprofit Children’s Restoration Network and the Georgia Foundation for Public Education and the Georgia Center for Nonprofits.
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