Broward Stuff the Bus Campaign Seeks to Support 142,000 Students
Stuff the Bus Campaign Seeks to Support 142,000 Students
Local Businesses and Organizations Support Broward Education Foundation’s Tools for Schools
Pompano Beach, Fla. – A full-size school bus is parked outside of the Tools for Schools Broward school supply center at 2300 West Copans Road as part of the “Stuff the Bus” campaign to gather the materials Broward students in need require throughout the 2012-2013 school year. The summer-long drive seeks to gather such items as half a million pink erasers, 164,000 file folders and 250,000 composition books – just a fraction of the school supplies needed to support the Broward School District’s nearly 142,000 students in need.
According to Jorene Jameson, president and CEO of the Broward Education Foundation (BEF), the second annual Tools for Schools Broward school supply drive will help more than 6,500 teachers in low income schools have the tools they need this fall.
“The teachers who shop at the Tools for Schools Broward center serve students whose family incomes qualify them for free or reduced-cost lunches,” she said. “They often spend as much as $1,000 of their personal funds to provide supplies for their students who cannot afford the basic learning tools.”
The theme of the 2012 Tools for Schools campaign is “Stuff the Bus,” because organizers hope to fill one or more school buses with donated new school supplies.
Power 96 and McDonald’s are hosting a public drive to support the campaign on August 17 at the newly-renovated McDonald’s at 300 E. Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. Anyone donating new school supplies will receive a McDonald’s coupon. Ronald McDonald will be on hand, as will the Power 96 morning crew.
Tools for Schools Broward, formerly called the Kids in Need Resource Center, is an 8,000-square-foot center, which provides teachers in low income schools the chance to shop for free supplies they need year round. Since it was formed in January 2001, Tools for Schools Broward has provided more than $3.5 million in new school supplies to teachers in Title 1 schools.
Local businesses throughout Broward County are being asked to collect school supplies from their customers and employees by displaying collection bins in their offices or retail locations. The bins are provided by Waste Management and decorated with original artwork from Broward County students as well as students at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale Summer Academy. To request a bin, call Mari-Lee Baxter at 754-321-2034 or [email protected]. 
Other supporters of the campaign include McDonald’s, Power 96, the Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce, The Pride Center, CenterLink community of LGBT Centers and the Great Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce GLBX.
Established in 1983, the nonprofit Broward Education Foundation (BEF) seeks private contributions to supplement the public funding the schools receive. The Foundation’s programs also provide award grants to teachers that enable them to develop educational programs and projects, supplies for classrooms and need-based scholarships for graduating seniors who plan to pursue post secondary education. For more information, visit our website.
