Hundreds of our valley children will now start the school year off right thanks to the generosity of our local neighbors.
On Thursday, Walmart Palm Desert played host to the 4th Annual "Pack the Bus" School Supply Drive. This year’s event was presented by Sunline Transit, Alpha Media, and KMIR News. The event benefited the Boys and Girls Club of Desert Hot Springs.
Over the course of the day, hundreds of backpacks, notebooks, pens, pencils, and essential school supplies were packed inside one of Sunline’s newest zero emission of buses.
"The 2017 "Pack The Bus" event was the most successful to date. We collected 402 backpacks (300 last year) and over 2,000 more items than in 2016." said Norma Stevens of Sunline.
Donations came from every corner of the valley. Many local businesses rallied together to deliver carts full of supplies, some even made cash and check donations for larger needs.
KMIR’s Thalia Hayden and Bryan Gallo were also on site throughout the morning helping collect donations, catalog supplies, and meet viewers.
"Nothing supports our mission statement of "Making the Coachella Valley a better place to live" than teaming up to help the children of the valley succeed in school." said Gene Steinberg, KMIR General Manager.
On Friday, all of the donated supplies were delivered by the Sunline team to the Boys and Girls Club. Sunline staff then distributed the filled backpacks to the children who needed them most. For many of the students, the supplies offered through the "Pack the Bus" event are the only supplies they will have for the entire year.
"The outpouring of support from our neighbors is another prime example of why the Coachella Valley is such a special place to live. All of us at KMIR want to say "Thank You" to everyone who donated." said Andrew Johnston, KMIR’s Creative Services Director. "We are grateful to have played a part in helping our valley youth start the school year off right."
To learn more about this year’s event, visit Sunline’s website https://www.sunline.org/
