We know schools just ended BUT we wanted to give everyone an early heads up that Caribbean Alliance Insurance’s STUFF THE BUS campaign will be back on August 1 – keep an eye out.

“Stuff the Bus” is an annual initiative to collect school supplies for children in need. During the campaign the public is asked to help fill a school bus with such items as backpacks, notebooks, crayons, pens, pencils and lunch boxes.

Last year’s initiative collected 14,490 school supply items which were presented to various organisations for distribution to families with children needing assistance.

Campaign sponsor Caribbean Alliance Insurance, which partners with Hurley’s Media and Whittaker’s Transportation, is dedicated to helping Cayman’s schools, teachers and students by hosting this yearly back-to-school initiative, stated a press release.

This year’s donation drive will run between 1 and 18 August and will be accepting supplies for children ranging from ages 6 to 16.

The organisations that will receive this year’s donations are the Department of Children and Family Services, the Needs Assessment Unit, the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, the Frances Bodden Children’s Home and Bonaventure Boys Home.

Donated supplies can be dropped off at boxes at the Caribbean Alliance office at 203 Alissta Towers, Cost-U-Less or Hurley’s Media in Camana Bay, or can be handed directly to event organisers and charity group representatives that will be hosting drive events at various locations on Grand Cayman on 4, 11 and 18 August.

Below are lists of supplies needed, separated by age group.

Primary schools, ages 6-12:

Pencil boxes
Crayons
Coloured pencils
Highlighters
Washable markers
2 pencils
Ballpoint pens
Pencil sharpener
Erasers
Glue sticks
Ruler
Blunt-tipped scissors
Plastic folders
Wide-ruled notebook or pad
Three-ring binder
Index cards
Backpacks
Lunchbox or bag
Middle and high school, ages 12-16

Blue or black ballpoint pens
Highlighters
Permanent markers
Three-ring binder
Three-hole-punch
Loose-leaf paper or spiral notebooks
Graph paper
Subject dividers
Index cards
Plastic folders
Post-Its
White-Out
Ruler
Scissors
Graphing calculator
Personal organiser/calendar
Backpacks

For more information or to organise a mini-collection go to the Stuff the Bus Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/StuffTheBusCayman/
or call Caribbean Alliance on 949-9744