Stuff The Bus/Cram The Cruiser 2018 Generates $2K Of Supplies and Cash For EC Schools

Local law enforcement stand with Edmonson County school personnel at the 2018 Cram the Cruiser school supply event.

STB, Houchens Industries Kick In For Largest Local Total Ever

Darren Doyle, story: Moriah Peterson, photos:
Each year the Edmonson Voice is proud to take part in Edmonson County's "Cram The Cruiser" event, which is the local branch of one the region's most popular benefit organizations, "Stuff The Bus," and each year we report the same thing: "biggest year ever."

For Edmonson County schools, being able to report the same news is anything but ordinary as the school supply drive increases each year. On Saturday, school personnel and volunteers along with KSP, Brownsville PD, and the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office, worked the crowd at Family Dollar in Brownsville as folks dropped off their school supply and cash donations. Those were collected and sorted later in the day as the operation moved uptown to Sav-A-Lot, where the Stuff The Bus Foundation of Southern KY sorted, boxed, and matched even more donations. Volunteers also took donated cash and shopped for school supplies inside the store.

When all was said and done, a little more than $2000 was collected during the all-day event, all of which that stays with Edmonson County schools.

"We do this for the kids of Edmonson County," said Community Education Director Lisa Whobrey. "We have such a wonderful community and when we ask our community for help, it seems they give back tenfold."

Whobrey said the success of the event wouldn't be possible without not only the local community, but also the Stuff the Bus Foundation, which has worked with the Edmonson County event for the past 12 years.

STB and local volunteers work at the Brownsville 2018 STB event.

Regional radio and media personality Tony Rose, Founder of STB, praised the local efforts of the Edmonson County portion of their program after helping with the event once again.
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"I've said it for a long time and I'll keep saying it. Edmonson County is one of the best examples of how the local communities work together with Stuff The Bus," he said. "When you take their efforts, their passion, and that great working relationship and couple it with our mission and what our friends at Houchens Industries are doing, you end up with a significant impact on Edmonson County students that can ease the burden of the need for supplies, not just for the first part of school, but all year long." 

Rose said when the STB Foundation decided to go on a multi-county tour, Edmonson County was at the top of the list.

"Edmonson County gets it and it's easy to see how they're trying to make a difference in local students' lives. I joke a lot about being an adopted Edmonson child, but after events like this, it seems like it's really true."

Pelican's Snoballs, a Bowling Green sno-cone dessert maker, set up at Cram the Cruiser and donated 20% of their total sales during the day. Several other businesses, local officials, and organizations also stopped to make donations.

So now what happens? Whobrey expounded the local process.

"The donations will be split between the five Family Resource Center/Youth Services Center offices once we're done with everything," she said. "The monies will be used to purchase more basic school supplies, backpacks, and basic clothing items like gym shorts, sweatpants, and similar items. The goal is to do our best to break any barrier that a student may have that could prevent a successful school year."