Stuff the Bus fills 2,277 backpacks

The Stuff the Bus school supply drive ended Tuesday with a celebration as volunteers filled buses and trucks with 2,277 backpacks and 100 boxes of additional supplies outside Char-Broil.

The school supplies will be distributed to 12 Title I schools in Columbus, Phenix City and Russell County. Stuff the Bus is a school supply drive for needy children. This is the second year the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley has partnered with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals, corporations and the community to donate, collect, sort and distribute school supplies to at-risk youth.

"The outpouring of support has been inspirational, because of the monetary assistance and hundreds of hours put in from caring volunteers that collected and sorted thousands of donated supplies," Scott Ferguson, United Way president and CEO, said in a news release. "It makes me proud to be a part of such an impactful project."

This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Stuff the Bus fills 2,277 backpacks ."