The start of the school year should be a time of excitement and enthusiasm.
But for many children throughout Johnson County, they start behind their peers, lacking even the most basic school supplies. Local schools have reported more than 1,800 students will be in need of pens, markers, notebooks and other essential supplies this year.
This weekend, the community is invited to help ensure they start school ready to learn.
“It’s really important that kids and their families don’t have to worry about whether or not they have paper, crayons, calculators, rulers, to be able to go back to school,” said Nancy Lohr Plake, executive director of the United Way of Johnson County. “They can just concentrate on their school work.”
The United Way of Johnson County will host its annual Stuff the Bus event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, setting up at the three Johnson County Walmart locations to collect a variety of items — everything from backpacks and three-ring binders to spiral notebooks and glue sticks.
By working together, people can give every kid in the county the best possible start to school.
“We want every student starting off on an even playing field, as it relates to being ready to learn as they enter the school year,” Plake said. “This year is probably more important than any other year, because they have not had a consistent school year in the past 18 months.”
The Stuff the Bus initiative is part of the United Way of Johnson County’s Fast Track program, which helps low income students be prepared for the first day of school.
The program reduces stress for families and teachers by ensuring that kids are well prepared for learning on the first day of school. According to the United Way, 97% of parents who attended Fast Track said it reduced their stress about providing their child supplies for the first day of school.
Among local teachers, 95% said children equipped with needed supplies reduces stress on the first day of school.
Families can also receive guidance and direction to community resources if they have a particular need.
Already this summer, schools throughout the county have reported 1,859 children will be in attendance at the Fast Track distribution events, Plake said. Last year, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2,091 kids took part, and 1,621 were part of the program in 2019.
With such a large group of students in need of help, it makes the public’s generosity that much more vital.
“That tells us that we might be in a little bit of recovery from last year, but there are still a lot of people in need,” Plake said.
In 2020, the United Way was able to hold Stuff the Bus, though pandemic restrictions greatly restricted their ability to mingle with shoppers and explain the purpose of the project. Normally, when shoppers would come into Walmart, volunteers would talk about the program, asking them to pick up a few extra school supplies for the campaign. They could pass out lists to make shopping easier.
None of that was possible because of COVID safety protocols, Plake said. Operations will ideally be back to normal this time around.
“Hopefully, we can get back to having conversations with people about Fast Track and why it’s so important,” she said.
The major push for Stuff the Bus will be this weekend at the Walmart locations. But a variety of options exist for people who want to contribute in different ways, Plake said.
Drop-off sites have been set up at all Johnson County Public Library locations, in addition to branches of Home Bank, Huntington Bank, First Merchants Bank and Horizon Bank.
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Stuff the Bus
What: A campaign to collect school supplies for county students in need, through the Fast Track program, organized by the United Way of Johnson County.
When: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Walmart locations at
- 1133 N. Emerson Ave., Greenwood
- 882 S. SR 135, Greenwood
- 2125 N. Morton St., Franklin
Other ways to help: Drop-off locations for supplies are available at all Johnson County Public Library locations; branches of Horizon Bank, Home Bank, Huntington Bank and First Merchants Bank.
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