MASON, Mich. — Mason community members were asked to “Stuff the Bus” with nonperishable food, toys and hygiene items to help benefit students, families and members of the community who are in need.
The community rose to the task of filling the bus with non-perishable food items and canned goods, toiletry items and toys for children ages 6-14 to donate to the Mason Food Bank. The Mason Food Bank has reported that Mason Public Schools’ donation weighed in at 1,960 lbs, almost 500 lbs more than last year.
Stuff the Bus is a long standing tradition started by the district’s transportation department. Food and personal needs items were collected at each of the elementary schools, then loaded onto a bus and delivered to the Mason Food Bank. This year, the District took the established event and added a second collection location at the Mason Meijer. Volunteers from the transportation department, the administration office, the National Honor Society and the IT department helped sort the donations. Pantries at both the high school and middle school were stocked to support the needs in those buildings, additional items were boxed up to support homeless and needy families in our community and the remaining 1,960 lbs of food and personal needs items were delivered to the Mason Food Bank.
“Stuff the Bus was huge in helping meet the needs of the homeless families that we service during the holidays and the needy families in the community that attend Mason Public Schools all year long,” said Jodi Somerville, Executive Assistant to the Curriculum Director and McKinney Vento coordinator at Mason Public Schools.
Stuff the Bus would not have been possible without the support of It’s Yours and More, Mason Meijer, Mason Public Schools employee volunteers and Mason Middle School for providing the space to sort and store the donations as well as the generous Mason community for participating in the program.
Source: Press Release
