With more than 500 locals attending this year’s Stuff the Bus and Community Cares Event, the annual back to school bash was a considerable success on Thursday, July 25, according to organizers.
Benton County students lined up to receive backpacks, school supplies, shoes, socks, hygiene products, t-shirts, haircuts, and more, all at no cost to them. The students also received free dental work.
The annual event is coordinated by local organizers with a plethora of local businesses and organizations donating supplies each year. According to one of the organizers, UT Extension County Director Heather Deckard Smith, vendors included in the event were, Benton County Coordinated School Health, Benton County School Nurses, BC Prevention Coalition, BC Public Library, FYI, Friends of NBF, NBF State Park, UT Extension Skill Up, BC Health Department, Air Evac, BC Sherriff Department, Henry County Medical Center, A Step Ahead, Sarah Cannon Cancer Center, WRAP, America Group, Ollie the Otter, Health Connect America, UT Extension TNCEP, UT Extension, Camden General Hospital, State of TN Department of Health Dental Program, Lions Club, WFWL, TN Volunteer Home Care, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, TN Commission on Children & Youth, CCR&R and SOCAT.
“We could not be more pleased with the turn out, this year,” Smith said. “This event continues to grow each year and the vendors participation is just amazing.”
The Stuff the Bus and Health Expo occurs every year, the week before school begins. In recent years, it had a change of venue to the Camden Central High School gymnasium.
