Pencils, crayons and notebooks. Everyone loves the smell of new school supplies in the fall, but for many kids, enjoying that simple pleasure can be a challenge.
That’s why Centric Consulting’s Cleveland practice once again came together to “Stuff the Bus” for Cleveland-area kids in need.
Sponsored by a local television station, Stuff the Bus is an annual school supply drive that encourages people to shop for school supplies or donate cash to help buy school supplies. Participants receive a list of needed supplies before heading to the stores. The Cleveland team has collected cash and school supplies for seven years.
“This year, we held a small, internal fundraiser that raised about $1,200 to help students in some of Cleveland’s economically challenged areas — about a 20 percent increase over 2023,” said Cleveland Operations Manager Emily Dengler-King, who organizes and promotes the effort every year. “More of us than last year also met up at a local Walmart and spent about two hours gathering some of the most needed school supplies.”
Altogether, Centric Cleveland gathered about 1,800 items, including:
- 400 notebooks.
- 270 pocket folders.
- 200 10-packs of colored markers.
- 200 24-packs of crayons.
- 102 12 packs of pencils.
- 108 pairs of socks.
“It was great to see my Cleveland colleagues share so generously,” Dengler-King added. “The dollar amount was excellent, but even more, the time contributed to organizing the items list, gathering and buying the supplies, and getting them to the schools was fantastic.”
In fact, Stuff the Bus has become a team-building event that contributes to the Cleveland team’s spirit of giving back to the communities where employees live and work.
“Across our footprint, Centric is mindful of giving back to our communities in meaningful ways, both large and small,” said Brad Nellis, Cleveland Market Development Lead. “To be sure, doing so helps our communities, but it also helps our team members with a great sense of accomplishment and local support.”