For the second year, the Stuff the Bus project helped outfit Helena-area school children with much-needed school supplies.

Last year, Theresa Ortega, Good Samaritan Ministries’ executive director, brought up the idea of a school supply drive at a Social Justice Council meeting at the Cathedral of St. Helena, and received favorable responses.

So the Good Samaritan and social justice committees from other Helena-area Catholic parishes combined forces to obtain a bus to hold donations, and people to monitor the operation.

Marcia Wall, president of the Angel Fund which has assisted high school students since the early 1990s, became interested in the project. So did parishioners from other churches in Helena, East Helena and Clancy.

This year, 13 churches were involved. They included Plymouth Congregational Church, United Church, First Presbyterian Church, Salvation Army, First Lutheran Church, First Baptist Church, Canyon Ferry Baptist Church, East Helena United Methodist Church, St. Peter’s Episcopal Cathedral and the Catholic parishes – St. Mary, Our Lady of the Valley and Cathedral of St. Helena in Helena, Ss. Cyril and Methodius in East Helena and its mission, St. John in Clancy.

First Lutheran Church’s youth group hosted the sorting of 4,000 pounds of school supplies and the counting of more than $4,600 in cash donations. Some of the cash came from church collections, Ortega said.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction’s Child Support Enforcement Division and other organizations and donors provided supplies and cash donations for families and students.

First Student, formerly Laidlaw Transit Co., supplied the distinctive yellow buses at churches throughout the summer, mostly on weekends. They also arranged for volunteer drivers who donated their time to stay at each location and help collect supplies.

This year, more children have the supplies they need, struggling families can breathe a sigh of relief and teachers hopefully found it easier to begin the school year, organizers said.

The 2008 Stuff the Bus project also produced a surprising result – supporting many teachers who buy supplies and decorations from their own pockets for their students and classrooms, to enhance the kids’ activities and projects as well as their education.

The organizing committee looks forward to even more churches, businesses and organizations participating in Stuff the Bus 2009. Anyone interested in helping may call Tiffany at Good Samaritan Ministries, 442-0780.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 24, No. 9, September 19, 2008.