Stuff the Bus is a school readiness program which supplies backpacks, school supplies, and other items to help students prepare for school and to make school a positive experience for them.
With all the recent layoffs in the county, they needed more help than ever. The recession had left schools and their families with diminished funding and no reserves to fall back on. Hertford County Public Schools reached out to local partners to sponsor a Stuff the Bus drive.
On September 20, 2016, Rivers Correctional Institution met with community partners such as Vidant Roanoke Chowan Hospital, the Murfreesboro and Ahoskie Chamber of Commerce, and members of the Rivers Community Relations Board at the local Walmart and collected supplies from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. The bus drove to the businesses that wished to participate but could not meet at the Walmart location. A courtesy photo was taken in front of the business as a token of the Stuff the Bus program appreciation. Overall, the Stuff the Bus program was a big success.
Pictured left to right: Front row: Lillie O. White, Josephine Green, Carolyn Bazemore, Judy Hatchery, Brick Tripp, and Mike Basnight. Back row: Amy Gillus, James Brown, Glenn Smith, Wallace Branch, McCoy Pierce, and Larry Whitman.
