Warren County Public Schools hosts ‘Unstuff the Bus’

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. –Warren County Public Schools recently concluded its local “Stuff the Bus” events across the county by hosting an “Unstuff the Bus” event.

This year marked 22 years of the program, which raises school supplies for students throughout South Central Kentucky.

Organizers say the event has grown each year, starting with two tons of school supplies and reaching an estimated 20 tons this year.

“ I cannot believe what has happened with ‘Stuff the Bus’ over the last 22 years. What started with me living in a school bus around the clock for about 100 hours, each has year it gotten bigger and better,” said Stuff the Bus Founder Tony Rose. “Now we have scholarships, of course, classroom grants, still collecting tons of school supplies, and our Stuff the Bus Community Center coming as well. I’m simply blown away by the generosity of our community.”

Organizers also noted that every student throughout the district will benefit from the program, even if they do not directly receive the supplies. 

It was also emphasized the importance of community involvement to the program’s success.

“This is always an exciting time of the year. We’re getting ready to welcome back 19,000 students next week,” said Warren County Public Schools Superintendent Rob Clayton. “To see our community really rally behind the goal of ensuring that every student on the first day of school has the necessary school supplies to, position them to have a great first day, but more importantly, have a great school year with us.

Warren East Youth Service Coordinator Justin Pate stressed why they feel it is important to ensure every child has the proper supplies to be best equipped to learn.

“We want to eliminate those barriers and those excuses, and the simple things like paper and pencil and crayons, um, is something a lot of us take for granted,” said Pate.

Rose also highlighted the pride that educators across south-central Kentucky feel toward supporting their students.

“You know, we may be separated by our school colors and which school we’re rooting for on Friday night football, but at the end of the day, all of these educators wanna make sure that every child walks in with everything they need so they have the best opportunity to succeed.”