UPDATE: The Stuff a Bus event with the Copper Country Angel Mission and Salvation Army – Bread of Life Center at Walmart in Houghton will collect donations from 9a -5p Thursday, Friday and Saturday (7/30-8-1).
August starts on Saturday, and with it the back-to-school shopping season. Tomorrow, Copper Country Angel Mission kicks off a month-long collection drive with a special event at Walmart in Houghton. Stuff a Bus will help the Angel Mission and its partner, the Salvation Army, connect students with the tools they’ll need in the classroom.
“We have a facility and we have some corporate connections,” said Carol Plichta of the Salvation Army. “Stuff the Bus is kind of a corporate connection to Walmart and it’s a marketing thing really. And it’s an opportunity for people to share their resources.”
Collaboration with the Salvation Army has helped tremendously in getting the supplies needed. “Rather than us in Calumet having little boxes around, the Stuff the Bus program just brought in so many supplies that we didn’t have to purchase nearly as much of as we have in the past,” said Renee Tourniemi, Copper Country Angel Mission.
Each school year, backpack programs collect supplies students will need in the classroom. Most may think of items such as pencils, calculators and notepads. But there are other items programs collect that may not have been donated as often, such as clothing items like socks or underwear.
“We need more socks and underwear and shoes, gently used shoes,” Tourniemi said. “If you bought a pair of shoes and you don’t like how they fit, please bring them in and we will repurpose and use those shoes at the backpack program. We’ll have lists at the event for Stuff the Bus for the different supplies that we are in need of.”
Program organizer Lisa Nelson contacts the ISD and communicates with schools to understand what changes and different needs exist this year. “Monetary donations are important also,” Plichta said. “If you don’t know what to get, just go ahead and give us a monetary donation and we’ll get the things that we need.”
While donations come in throughout August, the CCAM Backpack program registers students. Having registration run alongside the collection drive means volunteers have a lot to accomplish and keep organized before distribution day.
“It’s 30 because of the different times, the different dates, different locations. We definitely need at least 30,” Tourniemi said.
“I love these kind of programs because sometimes it feels like a burden,” Plichta said. “We need to get so many papers and so many pencils and how we’re going to do it. But what we’re doing is just offering an opportunity for our community to help each other.”
The Stuff a Bus kickoff for the Copper Country Angel Mission School Backpack program will open Thursday and Friday at Walmart. The event will collect donations throughout the day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The organizations will continue to collect donations throughout August from those who could not stop in on July 30th and 31st.
Distribution sites will set up in Hancock at the Salvation Army Bread of Life Center on August 21st, at the Angel Mission storefront in Calumet on August 28th, and a third site will set up on August 21st in L’Anse. Registration for the backpack program will accept applications until August 11th. Families can register their students online on the CCAM website or by picking up a paper application from the Calumet storefront or Bread of Life Center in Hancock.
Groups, businesses or organizations that want to set up a collection box for the community can contact program organizer Lisa Nelson for more details. Find a full list of school supplies the program will accept online.
