GREAT FALLS — United Way of Cascade County is collecting school supplies and living essentials as part of its annual "Stuff The Bus" event that will be on Thursday, August 8, 2024.
UWCC said in a news release on Monday that more than 100 volunteers will be at one of three buses donated by Big Sky Bus Lines that are parked at the Target store and both Walmart locations in Great Falls.
Supplies collected through community drives and from shoppers that day will be given to students across the public schools and area non-profit agencies.
This year’s Stuff The Bus will also provide supplies for the Back 2 School Blast on Friday, August 16, which will be from noon until 4 p.m. at the Civic Center in downtown Great Falls.
The Back 2 School Blast will have free food, free haircuts, and free backpacks. Children who haven’t pre-registered for backpacks are still able to get one on a first-come basis.
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“Many of our kids need more than crayons and calculators,” said UWCC spokesperson Kim Skornogoski. “We know that if students don’t have shampoo to wash their hair, or have a toothache from not brushing their teeth, they can’t focus as well in the classroom.”
Many lessons involve computers and other technology, making inexpensive earbuds or headphones as important as notebooks and pencils.
Topping the list of needed items are backpacks, composition notebooks, earbuds and dry erase markers.
People can volunteer, find a list of needed supplies, and donate at the UWCC website.
Donations can also be mailed to PO Box 1343, Great Falls, MT 59403. To sponsor a student is $50.
For more information, call UWCC at 406-727-3400.
