As a strategy in their Education initiative, the United Way of Marion County and its partner agency Heart of Ohio Mentoring recently collected more than 2,000 back-to-school supplies through its second annual “Stuff the Bus” community campaign. The supplies were passed on to the NAACP and Marion Rec Center for distribution to more than 150 local children.
The event was designed to provide families, who may not otherwise have the means, to access supplies needed for their children to be successful in school.
Heart of Ohio Mentoring Director Sheryl Rhoades has seen first-hand the stress some parents face when presented with this expense. "Through this partnership, Heart of Ohio Mentoring and United Way hope to equip children — who might otherwise go without these essentials — with all of the tools and materials they need to start the school year with confidence,” explained Rhoades.
Helping to collect the items were twenty-one local businesses and hundreds of Marion County employees and residents. New to this year’s drive were bluefusion entertainment, First Energy, and Marion Industrial Center. “First Energy employees understand the importance and far-reaching effects of public service—it’s a role we embrace every day in our work,” said First Energy representative, Dan DeVille. “Giving back to our community also means helping our youngest community members get the solid start they need to excel in their education.”
Supplies donated include: folders, glue, spiral notebooks, pencil boxes, pencils, scissors, notebook paper, 3-ring binders, crayons, colored pencils, erasers, colored markers, highlighters, rulers, and backpacks.
“Education is so vitally important in trying to positively and permanently impact a community,” added United Way of Marion County Executive Director Pam Stone. “In a very real sense, it’s the key to changing anything, and I want to thank Marion County for being so incredibly generous and taking one more step toward that change.”
For information on where to find additional school supplies distribution sites, please contact First Line at 740-382-4149.
Image – Dan DeVille, First Energy Representative, dropping off items collected by the employees at FirstEnergy.
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