Time again to Stuff the Bus

FINDLAY — The 2025-26 school year is fast approaching, and Christian Clearing House is looking for help providing supplies to students in need. Stuff the Bus, the school supply collection that yields everything from pencils to backpacks, is next week — just in time for the start of the new school year that begins Aug. 14. The annual event — sponsored by CCH, WFIN-AM and WKXA-FM and The FOX, Findlay Publishing Co., McDonald's and CedarCreek Church — will be held July 24-26. Hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 24 and 25, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 26. A big yellow school bus will again be located in the parking lot of McDonald's, 1921 Tiffin Ave., to accept donations. There's a definite need for this program, said Tammy Stahl, executive director of CCH, the agency in charge of distribution. "People are having difficulty buying food, paying rent and their utility bills. Prices for everything have skyrocketed," she said. In past years, the price for a backpack and supplies was about $85 per child, Stahl said. "Everything has just gone up so much, I'm really concerned on what the prices are going to be when we start getting out to the stores," she said. New, unused supplies of all types are needed, including backpacks, scissors, glue, crayons (Crayola crayons are preferred), markers, boxes of tissues, notebook paper, pencils, pens, folders, flash drives, ear buds/headphones, binders, Ziploc bags and hand sanitizer. A complete list can be found on the agency's website at www.cchsupport.org. Monetary donations are also accepted to purchase supplies, Stahl said, adding that the biggest need is for backpacks. "We want things to be new," she said. "It's nice to pull that old backpack out of the closet that your kids had, but it's an old backpack that your kids had. We want the kids to feel empowered. We want them to go into a learning environment with a fresh start on the year in all aspects." Donations will continue to be taken after July 26, she said. Items can be dropped off until July 31 at the CCH office, located in The Family Center, 1800 N. Blanchard St., Suite 107. Stahl said Stuff the Bus has grown since its first collection in 2007 when it aided about 300 children. Last year, 1,300 students were helped, she said. "That's a lot of backpacks. And this community is amazing because they have surrounded us every single year," she said. Volunteers are needed at the bus and Aug. 6-9 to help fill the backpacks, said Stahl. A signup is available on the CCH website. Registration to receive supplies begins July 21 on the agency's website. Parents will be required to input a Social Security number for each child. All families needing assistance must be residents of Hancock County. Also, each child that is preregistered will receive a voucher for a new pair of school schoes. For children not preregistered beginning Aug. 4, remaining backpacks and school supplies will be available at the CCH office. Stahl said any remaining supplies will be taken directly to the schools. CCH works to raise funds for Project Happy Feet, which provides kids with a new pair of back-to-school shoes, she said. The first 800 children who register will receive a $60 voucher good for one pair of shoes at Shoe Sensation or Gabe's. The agency is also collecting new socks to add to the backpacks. Many area churches have been donating new socks. "It seems like this gets bigger every year," said Stahl.