ORANGE PARK — Stuff the Bus came to Clay County for the first time last week, and it was a huge success.

Created by First Coast News for Duval County, it expanded to include Clay this year to the Staples parking lot on Friday, July 19, and, according to the television outlet, more than 17,000 school supplies and $1,600 were collected in the two counties.

Benefactors and volunteers loaded backpacks, composition notebooks, cleaning supplies, papers, pens and pencils onto the yellow school bus in the Staples parking lot on Kingsley Avenue.  

By 11:45 a.m., the bus was stuffed with school supplies. After it drove off, a second school bus pulled into the parking lot and continued to receive donations.

"The community heard the call loud and clear. We couldn’t be more thrilled. I knew they would stuff two buses," said First Coast Marketing Director Kristen Joyal.

It’s always interesting to interview another member of the press, and Joyal demonstrated a palpable passion for community outreach. She said the idea of expanding Stuff the Bus to Clay County came to her last January.

Many of the school supplies collected last Friday will be received by the Clay Education Foundation to help stock Tools 4 Clay Schools, which allows teachers in Clay County District Schools to take school supplies back to their classrooms for free.

“We open the store four times a year for teachers to ‘shop,’ and by that, I mean they pick up whatever they need for free," Carolyn Krall, President of the Clay Education Foundation, told Clay Today.

“It's exceeded expectations. We've had a steady stream of cars all day and already fully filled up one bus. We're already on bus No. 2," Heather Obermiller, Vice-President of the Clay Education Foundation, said.

Volunteers said Stuff the Bus garnered a tremendous turnout despite a scorching hot afternoon — which prompted a need to put crayons in a cooler so they wouldn’t melt — and a downpour in the evening that cut the event a bit short.

The success was attributed to partnerships with community and business leaders, including Impact Clay, United Way and more. Whataburger passed out hamburgers to volunteers and benefactors.

“It shows what Clay County can do. When they see a need, they respond, which is true in all these areas. Clay Education Foundation should be proud for setting this up, and what this will mean for teachers and children of our community — that is huge,” School Board Member Mary Bolla said.

After a successful debut, Stuff the Bus is eagerly expected to receive more supplies next year by stuffing even more buses.