8-28-2023 4:24am

STUFFING THE BUS

STUFF THE BUS

Last week, WBAL-TV, 98 Rock, and WBAL NewsRadio partnered with the Baltimore Orioles and local Walmart stores for its inaugural “Stuff the Bus” campaign benefitting six Maryland school districts in the Baltimore region. This campaign was part of the WBAL CARES Campaign.

“Working in collaboration with education champions who support schools across the region demonstrated community in action,” said Phelps. “A big shout-out to Dan Joerres, president and general manager, Jerome Chester, director of programming and public affairs, and the entire WBAL CARES Campaign team for gathering a caring cadre of community partners to host this initiative. It is greatly appreciated by so many – Thank you!”

Working in collaboration with The Education Foundation, the campaign for the collection of school supplies for BCPS took place on August 18, at the Walmart in Hunt Valley.

“The day was a brilliant and beautiful success,” said Dr. Heather Wooldridge, the foundation’s associate director. “Our community was beyond generous! Not only did we stuff one bus, we stuffed two buses with more than $15,000 worth of donated supplies and resources. These tools for school will make their way into the classrooms across Baltimore County and into the hands of our 111,000 students. WOW!”

Each year, the foundation’s mission is to collect enough school supplies and classroom resources and raise ample funding to ensure that its Exchangerees: Gizmos and Gadgets Galore – two brick-and-mortar collaborative educator resource centers – are stocked with the tools necessary to ensure students are successful academically, socially, and emotionally. Thanks to the support of Stuff the Bus, BCPS teachers will be able to shop the shelves and bins at no cost to them to provide the necessary tools for their students.

The Stuff the Bus campaign directly aligns with the foundation’s Tools for School Campaign, which is currently underway. Community members can support Tools for School by hosting a supply drive, shopping foundation ‘wish lists’ at Amazon, Target, and Walmart, and/or making a monetary donation. For more information, visit the foundation website.

BCPSFEST

What better way to kick off the school year than with an education-focused festival!?! BCPSfest, the school system’s annual back-to-school festival, was an astounding success. For the second year in a row the event was held at Carver Center. The Education Foundation was headquartered in tents 1 and 2 and greeted attendees coming off the shuttle buses with free books to feed the brain and nostalgic yo-yos for a bit of fun.

“In the first hour, we gave away 1,200 books!” said volunteer Abbie Karey, a finalist for 2023 BCPS Teacher of the Year. “The staff from the Office of College and Career Readiness was nice enough to send us 800 more books for the second hour. There were literally only six books out of 2,000 left on the table at the end of the festival, and they found their way to the new Little Free Library on W. Chesapeake Avenue (Charter # 155005)!”

“It was a joy to share with the community our mission to support improved educational outcomes through fundraising, advocacy, and programs,” said Phelps.

It’s not too late to support the students, teachers, and schools of BCPS. Learn more about how you can support The Education Foundation campaigns that serve our community by visiting the foundation website.