Junior Auxiliary Holds Stuff the Bus School Supply Drive, Seeks Donations

The Junior Auxiliary of Oxford is collecting school supplies through Aug. 6 for the annual Stuff the Bus project to benefit children attending Oxford and Lafayette County schools.

Each year, the organization collects school supplies at local drop-off points for children who come to school without the supplies they need for success. This year the group plans to send a portion of their donations to Batesville Elementary School, which recently burned.

“This project is important to me because the first day of school was one of my favorite things as a child,” said Diana Cissell of the Junior Auxiliary. “I loved school and I loved back to school shopping even more. However, it is easy to forget that some children might be dreading that first day because they don’t have all the things on their list. That is where Junior Auxiliary comes in.”

The group coordinates with school counselors to find out what supplies each school needs. “We want every child to enter their classroom with confidence,” Cissell said. “Of course, we couldn’t do that without our community graciously donating supplies year after year.”

Supplies may be dropped off from 4 to 7 p.m through July 24 at the following Oxford locations: Freds, CVS, Walgreens and Office Depot.

Items may be dropped off at Walmart from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 25.

Items may be dropped off at McDonalds on University Avenue from 5 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 6.

The following school supplies are requested:

• Backpacks (no wheels)
• Wide-ruled notebook paper
• No. 2 pencils
• Pencil pouches
• Plastic 3-prong folders with pockets
• Plastic folders with pockets only
• Hardbound composition books
• Pencil top erasers
• Binders (1-inch, 1 ½-inch, 2-inch or 3-inch)
• Rest mats
• Crayola classic color markers
• Crayola crayons (24-count)
• Dry-erase markers
• Elmer’s bottled glue
• Glue sticks
• Fiskars Scissors (blunt end and pointed end)
• Clorox disinfecting wipes
• Five-tab dividers
• Copy paper
• Hand sanitizer Large Pink erasers
• Spiral-bound 1-subject notebooks

Beth Harmon is managing editor for HottyToddy.com. Email her at beth.harmon@hottytoddy.com