It’s that time again, and in it鈥檚 5th year, Stuff the Bus campaign is at full throttle. Stuff the Bus is a school supply campaign that gives any and all items donated through collection drives to schools serving the lowest income students in Seattle.

Communities In Schools of Seattle kicked off 2010鈥榮 Stuff the Bus campaign at this year鈥檚 Pride Parade on June 27th. Backed by the beats of 鈥淗igh School Musical,鈥� 18 volunteers danced the highly decorated–and yet still very stuff-able–school bus down the parade streets. The energy was high, colors were flying, and the voices were loud, all with the intent of drilling up excitement about this year鈥檚 Stuff the Bus campaign.

Behind the rainbow colors and street dancing sits an important community-wide need that Stuff the Bus fills. Proper school supplies are a crucial element in a student鈥檚 learning process, and today families spend $60-100 per child to get them ready for the first day of school. This can be a serious hardship for families throughout the Seattle area, where about 40% of the district鈥檚 45,000+ students live in poverty. Add in the $1000 that an average elementary school teacher spends out of pocket to provide supplies for his or her students, and the need for campaigns such as Stuff the Bus quickly becomes apparent.

Want to help Stuff the Bus? You can become a Community Partner and hold a school supply drive at your business, organization, sports club, church, etc. You can also become a volunteer at any of Stuff the Bus鈥檚 functions. Visit the for more information.

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A few weeks ago, Communities in Schools of Seattle turned a school bus donated by First Student into a parade float joining dozens of other community organizations, marching bands, and lively entertainment at the Pride Parade.聽 The float was created to promote our 2009 Stuff the Bus school supply campaign.

It was a great way to show that 黑料不打烊S supports all students and the diversity of our families.聽 Due to the growing needs of Seattle Public Schools, we also wanted the community at large to know about our campaign.聽 Many families are unable to provide their children with the supplies they need to be prepared to learn once school starts.聽 Participation in a parade is a fun way for the community to learn about our mission and ways they can support Seattle鈥檚 students.

There are a few more opportunities to check out our float.聽 We will also be at the West Seattle Hi Yu Parade this Saturday July 18^th with the HiJax and Unicycle teams from Pathfinder K-8.聽 We have also been invited to participate in the SeaFair Torch Light Parade next Saturday July 25^th 2009.

Where exactly will we be “stuffing the bus”?聽聽We will collect school supplies outside Qwest聽Events Center聽during the Seahawks vs. Oakland on September 3^rd.聽 We invite you to bring backpacks and school supplies to the game, helping us “Stuff the Bus鈥�. 聽During the months of July and August you can also donate at any BECU location, Northgate Mall and South Center Mall as well as the Starbucks Center.聽 If your business is interested in being a collection site or to learn more about this campaign please visit

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