text: CHAMBERSBURG - United Way of Franklin County launched its fourth annual Stuff the Bus program Monday and continued placing donation boxes Tuesday afternoon.
  The project is in its fourth year and is designed to aid schools by donating necessary school supplies for students to use for the new school year. Official collection days start in August.
  "We started our local Stuff the Bus effort after hearing about similar projects in communities around the country and the impacts they were able to make," United Way Executive Director Amy Hicks said via email. "We started our first year with one bus in Chambersburg, and decided that by the second year we wanted to reach all of the school districts within our Franklin County footprint."
  In a spreadsheet from United Way of Franklin County Community Impact Director Cheri Kearney, last year $12,391.47 worth of materials and money were donated between five school districts in the county.
  "We work with local school districts and local school bus contractors to arrange dates. Supplies that are collected during our drive are given directly to the school district where they were collected," Hicks said. "From there, the districts are able to determine where there is the most need within their schools. Most of the supplies are used to prepare classrooms for incoming students, so that the supplies that are consumed daily by students are available."
  For those who can't make it to a Stuff the Bus date, but still wish to help, there is another way. Donation boxes have been placed in various locations around Chambersburg and other Franklin County school districts.
  "The boxes are to accommodate the people who won't be available when the big bus is stuffed," Kearney said.
  The boxes can be filled with school supplies such as folders, hand sanitizer, calculators, paper (lined, construction, copy, and plain white), and facial tissues. Kearney said the items most often requested by school districts are notebooks, pens, pencils, and backpacks.
  Once a donation box is filled, it will be emptied and United Way will immediately take the supplies to the school district, so as to reduce the amount of supplies the school districts will receive at one time with the official collection days. Items in the Chambersburg area will be picked up for the final time the week of August 1 through 5, with the other school districts' boxes being collected the week of August 8-12.
  There are several places in each school district where boxes have been placed. For Chambersburg, boxes have been placed at the Chamber of Commerce, YMCA, the Chambersburg Hospital, Barra Orthodontics, and the Chambersburg Mall, among others. For the Waynesboro Area School, locations include the Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce, the Waynesboro Hospital, the Waynesboro YMCA, the Waynesboro Day Care, and Waynesburger.
  Locations in the Tuscarora School District are The Dressing Room and First United Methodist Church. Places in the Greencastle-Antrim School District are the Chamber of Commerce, SunnyWay Market, and Antrim Honda. For the Fannett-Metal School District, locations are the Path Valley Family Restaurant, the Path Valley Market, the Path Valley Presbyterian Church, and the Valley United Methodist Church.
  Official collection days are as follows: Chambersburg Area School District will occur from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday August 1 in the parking lot of Kathy's Deli; the Fannett-Metal School District pick-up will be from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday August 11, during the Path Valley Parade; the Waynesboro Area School District pick-up will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday August 12 at the Waynesboro YMCA; and the Tuscarora and Greencastle-Antrim school districts will both have their pick-ups Saturday August 13. Tuscarora's will be from 8 a.m. to noon during the Mercersburg Community Fair and Greencastle-Antrim's will be from 8 a.m. to noon at SunnyWay Foods.
  United Way is also accepting monetary donations as well in addition to the supplies. Donors can specify which school district they want the money to go to by writing it in the memo line along with Stuff the Bus. Checks can be made out to the United Way of Franklin County. The money donated will go towards purchasing supplies the schools request that may not have met the quota during the donation period. For example, a school district might request 100 calculators, but only receive 20 donated ones. Donated money will be used towards the other 80 calculators.