Linda Izard went to the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Whiskey Road to buy groceries on Thursday morning, but that wasn’t all she did.
In addition to shopping for food, Izard purchased notebooks and other items to donate to the United Way of Aiken County’s Stuff the Bus effort to collect school supplies for students whose parents can’t afford to buy them.
“It’s something that is important because we are called to reach out and help others,” Izard said. “It’s a way to be the face of Christ in the community.”
Betty Gardener and the Rev. Michael O’Neal gave the United Way cash instead of school supplies.
“The company I worked for in New York, which was a big Wall Street firm, was a corporate donor to the United Way, ” Gardener said. “I want to continue to support the United Way.”
Michael O’Neal is the pastor for Trinity Outreach Ministries International.
“We are doing something similar at our church,” he said. “It’s all about giving and helping others.”
Ellen Luton, director of marketing for the United Way, was pleased with how Stuff the Bus was going about an hour and a half after it had started.
“The generosity of the people of Aiken County is amazing,” she said. “Everyone has been very kind, and they’ve seemed happy to see us. It has been fun.”
Lena Scott drove a school bus to the Wal-Mart Supercenter and parked it in front of the store for the Stuff the Bus event. She brought three grandchildren with her, and those little girls, who ranged in age from 4 to 8, handed out fliers with information printed on them about Stuff the Bus to Wal-Mart shoppers before they entered the store.
“They have been giving us money,” Hope said.
Added Haley, “All of us together have gotten about $14 so far.”
Stuff the Bus drives also will be held today (Friday) from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter at 3581 Richland Ave. and the Wal-Mart Supercenter at 1201 Knox Ave. in North Augusta. Contributions of school supplies or money also can be brought to the United Way’s office at 235 Barnwell Ave. N.W.
The United Way will distribute the donated items to schools in the Aiken Public School District before the start of the 2016-17 school year on Aug. 15.
The Stuff the Bus initiative is part of the United Way’s School Tools outreach program. For more information, call the United Way at 803-648-8331.
DeDe Biles, The Aiken Standard
Dede Biles is a general assignment reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been with the newspaper since January 2013. A native of Concord, N.C, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.