Stuff the Bus expands efforts to assist area students

It’s now an independent nonprofit organization with a reach far beyond Charleroi.

Stuff the Bus is spreading its wings.

After nine years of supporting students in the Charleroi Area School District, the longtime community fundraiser has become an independent nonprofit organization, opening the door to helping more students and teachers throughout the Mon Valley.

And with its first donations already delivered, founder Tom Nutting says the organization is just getting started.

Stuff the Bus Inc., which began operating Sept. 1, will continue supporting Charleroi students while expanding its reach to other schools and preschools in surrounding communities.

For Nutting, a former educator and longtime Charleroi Area school board director, forming the nonprofit was a way to continue the work he started in 2017 while reaching students who previously could not benefit from the fundraiser.

“I wanted to continue doing this, STUFF THE BUS •A5 Taylor Brown / MVI but wanted it to do more,” Nutting said.

He turned to attorney Bradley Bassi for help establishing the organization and learned its mission could extend beyond a single school district.

Until now, the annual Stuff the Bus fundraiser only benefited Charleroi Area School District. This year’s event, held in July, was the last designated exclusively for Charleroi students.

Nutting said that doesn’t mean the organization is moving away from the district where it began.

Instead, he hopes to build on the support the fundraiser has received over the years and bring that same generosity to other communities.

The organization has already started doing that.

Madonna Catholic School in Monongahela became the first school to officially receive donations through Stuff the Bus Inc. following its incorporation.

Nutting also delivered supplies to Love & Learn preschool in Dunlevy.

“Before we were never able to give to preschools, and now we have been able to, and to help here at Madonna,” Nutting said. “So we’re already seeing how much more help we will be able to provide to teachers and to their students.”

Kathy Miller, principal at Madonna Catholic, said the donations are especially meaningful for a small school where teachers often purchase classroom supplies with their own money.

“It’s nice for them (teachers) to receive the things that they need,” Miller said. “It makes them feel appreciated, too. We’re very grateful to be part of this.”

Miller said the supplies will help teachers provide for their students without having to reach into their own pockets.

“We don’t have a huge budget, and our teachers are the best, so they often use their own money to buy supplies for their classes,” Miller said. “So to see them receive even a few things they are in need of is so nice to see. And for them, it’s being able to pass it along to their students.”

Linda Wiltz, a member of the nonprofit’s board of directors, said easing that burden is an important part of the organization’s mission.

“Sometimes people don’t realize how much of a difference something as simple as school supplies can make,” Wiltz said. “If we can take even a little bit of that burden off them, we’re doing something worthwhile.”

Vice President Kirk Melenyzer is excited to see the fundraiser grow beyond Charleroi.

“It’s phenomenal. It’s so contagious, this kind of kindness,” he said. “We have seen what Stuff the Bus has been able to do, such great things in Charleroi, and expanding this will be so beneficial for students in the entire Mon Valley.”

Melenyzer said the goal isn’t to take resources away from Charleroi, but to bring additional support to students in neighboring communities.

Board member Mickey Arrigo said the success of Stuff the Bus over the years shows what can happen when residents and businesses come together to help local students.

“We’ve seen what this community can do when people come together for a good cause,” Arrigo said.

The new organization has already received two separate $500 donations, giving it $1,000 to begin its expanded work.

Nutting hopes the support will continue as more schools and community members learn about Stuff the Bus Inc. and the opportunities to get involved.

The fundraiser began in 2017 when Nutting asked for school supplies instead of birthday gifts to celebrate his 70th birthday.

What started as a simple request grew into an annual community effort, with residents and businesses donating backpacks, notebooks, pencils, binders, crayons, colored pencils, highlighters, pens and other classroom essentials for Charleroi students.

While donations of supplies are still accepted, Nutting said monetary contributions have become the most common form of giving.

The money allows teachers and administrators to purchase supplies based on their classrooms’ specific needs, often buying items in bulk rather than relying solely on donated materials.

Local businesses have also played a role in the fundraiser’s success.

River House Cafe in Charleroi has hosted the annual Stuff the Bus event for the past several years, bringing residents together to support the effort.

Tessa Thorne, secretary/treasurer of Stuff the Bus Inc., said the restaurant, where she is a manager, has been happy to be part of the fundraiser.

“The River House has been part of Stuff the Bus over the past few years,” Thorne said. “We’re happy to help bring people together and support something that means a lot to this community.”

Nutting, who serves as president of the nonprofit, said though the organization is expanding, its mission remains the same — helping teachers and students get the supplies they need.

“Charleroi is where this all started, and that’s never going to change,” Nutting said. “But there are kids and teachers in other communities who need help, too. If we can do something to make their lives a little easier, that’s what it’s all about. I just want to keep helping as many as we can.”

With donations already reaching additional schools and preschools, he hopes Stuff the Bus Inc. will continue to grow and encourage more communities to get involved.

To donate or for more information, find Stuff the Bus Inc. on Facebook.

“Before we were never able to give to preschools, and now we have been able to, and to help here at Madonna. So we’re already seeing how much more help we will be able to provide to teachers and to their students.”

TOM NUTTING

STUFF THE BUS FOUNDER