Fill the Bus

Calling all active and concerned parents of their child’s education! Want to make a difference in the lives of teachers? If your answer is yes, then it’s time to get on the bus!

Six years ago, as a concerned mother of a grade school student, I noticed the large volume of supplies my son needed for kindergarten. I realized that if we parents would not (or could not) buy the supplies, schoolteachers often did. I started a grassroots program called “Fill the Bus,” which teams with local businesses to raise funds and supplies for our local schoolteachers.

Having the resources to make something happen, I developed the idea to solicit donations of supplies and fill up a real school bus with them, because it’s very visual. I want people to remember the needs of our teachers, and a school bus is a great reminder.

I proposed the Fill the Bus idea in 2000 to the company for whom I work, VF Corporation, and encouraged management to spearhead the project the first year. As a large company known to support education initiatives, I knew VF Corporation could make a difference and set an example for others. The first year’s campaign was a huge success, filling many school buses and touching the lives of hundreds of local school teachers.

To date, Fill the Bus has collected and distributed over $500,000 in funding and school supplies for Guilford County Schools. The program matches a business with a school and provides the tools and incentive ideas for companies to motivate their employees to participate and give either a monetary donation or classroom supplies.

An energizing and enlightening community kickoff takes place in March each year. Attendees are company representatives and guest speakers that may include teachers, principals, and business and community leaders. Many are shocked to learn that, on average, a teacher will spend more than $500 dollars of his or her own money on supplies for students and classrooms. Many first-year teachers spend over $700 dollars. This program helps bridge that spending by providing items that the teachers “wish” for. Typical items may include hand sanitizer, tissue, dry erase markers, arts, crafts, and the like, while others wish for items that enhance the classroom environment—items such as rocking chairs, carpet pieces, plants, CD players, and puppet theaters, to name a few.

Needless to say, the teachers love the program and so do the participating company employees! All events to raise funds or collect supplies take place in June and July, so that deliveries may be planned for the first week of the school year. Many teachers through the years have shed tears of gratitude, referring to this program as “Christmas in August.” Employees are often offered incentives to give supplies. Company events have included cookouts with a band, time off work to attend the movies, a night out with the kids to a baseball game. In exchange for admission, monetary donations are collected or supplies are given. It’s a win/win both for the employee and the teacher.

While the goal is to match every school with a local business, organizers focus on the neediest schools first and also try and match schools and businesses that are relatively close in proximity to one another. The idea is to encourage the company/school match to extend beyond the Fill the Bus program. In some cases, a company’s employees have served as tutors or mentors in their Fill the Bus school.

With the program entering its 6th year, I remind parents to never doubt what a community can do when it comes together to make a difference. If your community participates in Fill the Bus, THANK YOU! If not, find out how—or get involved with your child’s teachers directly. Ask them what they wish for to enhance your child’s learning experience (because many won’t ask otherwise). Teachers are often unsung heroes who truly make a difference in the lives of our children. Remember them the next time you see a school bus.