Jenni Berz drops off a donation as United Way CEO Eva Dillard helps.The sixth annual Stuff the Bus drive collected about $95,000 in school supplies and monetary donations this year, far exceeding the goal of $60,000.
"This year's Stuff the Bus drive exceeded expectations wildly," said Kelley Nave, public relations director for United Way of Greater Chattanooga.
The four-month drive, sponsored by the United Way, collects donations throughout Hamilton County in Tennessee and Catoosa and Walker counties in Georgia.
The drive began in 2009, raising $10,000 the first year, Nave said.
"The program has grown exponentially over the years," she said. "The drive shows how giving of a community Chattanooga is."
According to the Hamilton County Department of Education's 2013 Report Card, 58 percent of students in the county are classified as economically disadvantaged.
Nave said this is seen in the classroom, as students do not have the supplies they need, and teachers frequently pay for those materials on their own.
A national report released in 2013 by the National School Supply and Equipment Association found that most public school teachers annually spend $1,000 of their own money on school supplies and educational materials for their students.
The drive is one of the ways the United Way is working to help the local school system, as all the money and supplies collected are distributed to students by their teachers, because they know better than anyone who is in need, Nave said.
Sherrie Ford, vice president of the Hamilton County PTA, said the drive has brought to light the need that both teachers and students have for school supplies.
"I don't think people realize how many students need something as simple as a pen and paper," she said.
Cara Moore, marketing assistant at Top Flight, a company that makes and sells school supplies commonly used by students, said employees there feel that it is their responsibility to help students in their community, and that the United Way takes the guesswork out of their donation allocation.
"The donation Top Flight makes to Stuff the Bus is the largest donation we make all year, and that's on purpose," Moore said. "Stuff the Bus takes the donation we give and stretches the availability of our donated products to every school in the county."
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6592.