According to a press release, Bloomington Transit is working with WCLS 97.7 and the Salvation Army to collect toys and clothing for the 15th annual Stuff-A-Bus event.
From Wednesday Dec. 2 to Sunday Dec. 13, a Bloomington Transit bus will travel to stores around Bloomington to completely “STUFF” a bus with “unwrapped new toys, new children’s coats and mittens.”
The bus will travel to seven different locations, including Sam’s Club, K-Mart, CVS, Wonderlab and T.J. Maxx, going to one location every day and collecting donations from morning until evening.
“Any kind of new toys, games, dolls, you know like trucks for boys,” Brenda Underwood of Bloomington Transit said. “In the past we’ve had bicycles donated, so just about any kind of toy.”
Underwood said Stuff-A-Bus began when a general manager brought the idea of it from another transit system to Bloomington.
Participants can also staff the bus. Volunteers collect and count toys for the bus.
Participants shouldn’t worry about recognizing the right bus. In honor of Stuff-A-Bus’s 15th anniversary, the bus, which will be revealed Dec. 2 at 2723 N. Walnut St., will be “festively decorated” and “feature a colorful holiday motif that will be prominently displayed on the bus exterior,” according to the press release.
“Last year with the help of area stores and a generous community we were able to collect over 2,700 new toys, stuffed animals, new coats, hats and mittens for needy children and families in our community,” the press release said.
“My goal would be 3,000 this year, and right now we have 420 families signed up,” Underwood said.
According to the press release, the items will go to families around Monroe County that asked for help from the Salvation Army.
Peter Iversen, community relations director at the Salvation Army, said people will receive donations Dec. 17 at the Salvation Army, but that people should donate during the Stuff-A-Bus event.
“Stuff-A-Bus is really one of the last events you have to donate items,” Iversen said. “We need time to organize the toys to make sure that the kids that signed up get the toys they asked for.”
Iversen said he enjoys seeing the bus arrive at the Salvation Army.
“One of the things that I like as a staff member is when the Stuff-A-Bus comes to the army, and when we get to see how full it is,” Iverson said. “To see it full of toys is just really cool ... It’s great to see how generous how people are.”
