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Hilltop Kiwanis to "Stuff the Bus"
(by Whitney Wilson Coy, Westside Editor - August 05, 2010)
The OSU Woody Bus is making a second stop on the Hilltop, and the Kiwanis hopes to fill it with even more goodies than they did last year.
The Stuff the Bus event, hosted by the Hilltop Kiwanis, aims to help local children get access to needed school supplies.
The bus will park at Hoge Memorial Church, 2930 W. Broad St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 21. Anyone can stop during those hours and donate school supplies. The goal, according to Hilltop Kiwanis President Vicki Malone, is to “Stuff the Bus.”
“We want to at least double what we collected last year,” she added.
Last year, the bus was filled knee-deep with donated school supplies, said Malone. The supplies collected were enough to fill 1,000 bookbags and provide needed supplies to children at six local elementary schools.
This year, the need is even greater.
Malone recently received a call from Franklin County Children’s Services, asking the group to expand the scope of their project this year.
There are currently an estimated 975 foster children in the county that have been placed in the custody of relatives, either on a permanent or temporary basis.
According to Malone, those relatives are not financially compensated by the county for taking on custody of those foster children, due to the fact that they are relatives.
“Just think of all those grandparents with extra kids who aren’t getting anything extra,” said Malone.
The Kiwanis has decided to lend a helping hand to them, as well.
The groups hopes to hold a Stuff the Bus event successful enough to again provide help to children in need at Hilltop elementary schools. Once that has been accomplished, they plan to reach out to those foster children scattered across the county.
“We have some help from the Kiwanis Club of Columbus and some other local groups,” said Malone, “But we’re going to need a lot more help if we’re going to help 975 extra kids.”
The Blue Jackets’ Stinger and local DARE officers will be on hand at the event to entertain children.
The Kiwanis will cater to those in a rush, as well, according to Malone.
“You can just pull up and hand your supplies to the children,” she said. “We’ll put them in the bus ourselves.”
For more information or to make a donation to the Stuff the Bus project, contact the Hilltop Kiwanis through their website, hilltopkiwanis.com, or e-mail hilltopkiwanis@gmail.com.
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