Annual Stuff the Bus School Supply Drive returns this weekend

People can help fill students' backpacks with supplies for the upcoming school year by donating to the annual Stuff the Bus School Supply Drive.

Donations will be accepted at participating Walmart stores from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and online at www.unitedwayofsemo.org.

Students, parents and volunteers will pass out a list of needed supplies to shoppers outside the stores and collect the donations as the customers exit. Shopping carts will be labeled for individual schools if shoppers prefer the supplies go to a specific elementary school in the area.

United Way of Southeast Missouri executive director Elizabeth Shelton said the event has run for almost a decade and helps parents with expenses.

"The first day of school is a big deal and the last thing a kid wants is to be the one sitting there without a notebook, without pencils, without a backpack because their family can't afford it. They feel a stigma immediately that we can help them avoid when our community chips in," Shelton said. "This is a very generous community and we have been able to help lots of students through the years through this program."

The top 10 items to buy to donate:

• Single-subject notebooks
• Mechanical pencils
• Filler paper
• Two-pocket folders
• Ink pens
• Crayola 24-count crayons
• Two-pack pink erasers
• Bottled school glue
• Scissors
• Three-pack glue sticks

"Many people in our community, especially some who are so generous, no longer have children in the school system and may not be aware of how expensive school supplies have become. Not only does this help them realize the amount of items and the expense associated with them, but I think it makes it a little more understandable as to why many children in our community and across the nation are not able to come to school with supplies," Shelton said.

The event is sponsored by Saint Francis Healthcare System, KFVS12, United Way of Southeast Missouri, Walmart and Withers Broadcasting Cos. For more information, visit www.unitedwayofsemo.org/event/bus.