A thousand students from kindergarten through high school in the north Gwinnett area will start the education year with free supplies donated by the community to Suwanee Elementary’s first “Fill That Bus” drive.
The event, held July 13 and 14, was the result of Principal Mary Taylor teaming with community partners from the local Walmart and the north Gwinnett Co-Op to collect enough pens, pencils, crayons, paper, binders, book bags and more to fill a school bus.
The idea, she said, came from Walmart team leader Heather Sullivan.
“She said she’d seen things that Walmart has done nationwide, and she asked if Suwanee would be interested in doing something,” said Taylor. “They donate supplies to our teachers every year; they’re a very caring team. But this was amazing.”
Taylor reached out to Kim Phillips, executive director of the North Gwinnett Co-op, a Buford-based nonprofit that supports those in need with a variety of services. Phillips agreed to accept the donations and distribute them to a waiting list of families.
“In mid-June, they had 700 families needing help with school supplies,” said Taylor. “By July, it was 1,000.”
Taylor spread the word through the school’s community. For two days, a county school bus stood outside the Walmart with a list of suggested donations.
“This was also my first time doing something with our bus drivers,” said Taylor. “They took their Saturday and Sunday to be out there, helping us get things on the bus and staying with it.”
As shoppers headed into the store, many stopped to ask about the bus and to find out where the supplies were going.
“When we told them it was all going to the kids, we had people of all ages coming out with bags of supplies,” said Taylor. “I think everybody has an experience of the first day of school, and this really hit people’s hearts. They know what it’s like to have a new book bag and lunchbox, and they wanted other kids to feel that, too.”
By the end of the weekend, the bus was crammed with enough supplies to fill 1,000 book bags, said Taylor, who is already planning ahead for next year.
“Everybody said we’ll do it bigger and better next year,” she said. “It was a great experience, and it was an honor to be part of it.”
Information about north Gwinnett Co-Op is online at northgwinnettcoop.org.
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