Stuff The Bus Will Help More Than 1,500 Bucks County Students

Raised by a single mother in Detroit, Cummins Power Systems President Kelley Tate knows how good it feels to be a child receiving a donated backpack filled with supplies.

That’s why on Thursday, Tate, his employees, dozens of United Way of Bucks County and  Bucks County Housing Group volunteers worked to fill more than 1,500 backpacks for area children whose families are not able to afford school supplies. The effort was part of the Stuff the Bus drive.

“I know what it is like to need supplies and how important it is for the kids,” Tate said, who recalled receiving help from a similar programs in Michigan.

Jennifer Drudge, a Bristol native who now lives in West Chester, worked with the United Way and her employer to set up the drive at the Cummins’ facility off Ford Road in Bristol Township.

Being a single-mother who needed a helping hand in the past, Dredge has worked with the United Way for the past several years to collect and distribute the donated backpacks and supplies. She said she knows the struggle and wants to help those in need.

The supplies – a mix of notebooks, lunch bags, writing utensils, glue sticks, crayons, binders and more – were donated by Bucks County businesses and residents earlier this week. There were so many donations that several trips were needed to bring everything over to Cummins for sorting and packing. A smaller packing event was held in Quakertown.

Danielle Bush of the United Way said the packing of bags started early Thursday and continued into the afternoon. Despite the heat, volunteers worked under a tent donated by Dredge to stuff the backpacks for students.

The backpacks will be distributed throughout Bucks County’s 13 school districts, the Intermediate Unit, service groups and religious schools, Bush said.

“I do this for the primary selfish reason that it feels good,” Tate said.

He wasn’t alone.

Incoming United Way of Bucks County Board President Brian Jeter, who is senior director of government affairs at Comcast, said the turnout for the packing event was great.

“This event delivers to a core need of students and also helps make employees who volunteer feel empowered.”