School-supply drive collected nearly 7,000 filled backpacks and 270,000 supplies for students experiencing homelessness

San Diego County CA— SDCCU^® Stuff the Bus, held in partnership with the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and iHeartMedia radio stations, collected 6,895 filled backpacks, over 3,000 passion planners and a total of 269,503 school supplies to better prepare students for success as they head back to school this year. The SDCCU school bus was on tour with Channel 93.3, Star 94.1, JAM’N 95.7 and KOGO AM 600 this summer making numerous stops to collect supplies. The community was also encouraged to drop off supplies at several participating locations, as well as any of SDCCU’s 43 convenient branch locations!
“We collected a record number of supplies this year, which helped thousands of students in need in San Diego, Orange and Riverside counties start the school year ready to learn and succeed,” said SDCCU President and CEO Teresa Campbell. “We are so grateful to the community for coming together to support this initiative, thank you to all the donors for their incredible generosity.”
The amount of supplies donated through SDCCU Stuff the Bus were valued at $329,634.
“The San Diego community continues to raise the bar when helping students who are in need,” said Dr. Paul Gothold, San Diego County superintendent of schools. “As a father and an educator, I know how important it is for students to be able to start a new school year with a backpack full of supplies. Being ready to learn lays the foundation for a bright future for these children.”
SDCCU Stuff the Bus benefits students in San Diego County experiencing homelessness, with supplies going to 33 school districts, 20 charter schools and 2 homeless youth drop in centers. According to SDCOE, more than 22,000 school-age children were identified as homeless during the last school year. Homelessness can mean living in a shelter, sharing a residence with whole families, living in a car or trailer or sharing a room in an apartment with relatives. Homelessness is not limited to urban, downtown San Diego—it affects suburban school districts all over the county.
“San Diego is such a generous community,” said Susie Terry, SDCOE’s coordinator for homeless education services. “Not only do our friends and neighbors take the time to buy supplies or make monetary donations, they also give their time, sorting through the hundreds of thousands of school supplies and filling backpacks, all to make sure the most vulnerable children in our community can start the school year right.”
In addition to helping students in San Diego County, the Stuff the Bus campaign reached both Orange and Riverside counties. The donations from our five Orange County branches benefitted the YMCA of Orange County. Over a dozen filled backpacks and over 160 supplies will go to students in need in Orange County. Our 3 Riverside locations collected donations for the Boys & Girls Club of Southwest County and netted over 120 school supplies. “These donations help us to provide local students with the supplies they need to help them start the school year off on the right foot. Thanks to SDCCU and the generosity of those who donated, more kids will be better prepared for school this year,” said Shelly Anguiano Figueroa, President & CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Southwest County.
SDCCU Stuff the Bus aligns with the Live Well San Diego initiative. SDCCU, San Diego’s largest locally-owned financial institution, SDCOE and iHeartMedia are proud Live Well San Diego partners. The County Board of Supervisors launched Live Well San Diego in 2010 with the goal of achieving healthy, safe and thriving communities across the region by partnering with community and city leaders, schools, businesses, non-profit organizations and residents.
San Diego County Credit Union is San Diego’s largest locally-owned financial institution serving San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties. SDCCU has assets of $8.4 billion, over 412,000 customers, 43 convenient branch locations and 30,000 surcharge-FREE ATMs. SDCCU provides breakthrough banking products that meet the demands of today’s lifestyle and delivers banking services that save customers money. SDCCU is leading the way, offering FREE Checking with eStatements, SDCCU mobile banking, mortgage loans, auto loans, Visa^® credit cards and business banking services. Federally insured by NCUA. Equal Housing Opportunity. For more information, visit www.sdccu.com