BSH Home Appliances is passionate about starting our students back to school with the school supplies needed to start them on the road to success. PIE president Debra Hurst and BSH Home Appliances US Chief Technology Officer Andy MacLaren announced that BSH Home Appliances has agreed to be the Title Partner for the 18th Annual Stuff the Bus for the 5th consecutive year. “BSH is committed to improving the quality of life at home and here in New Bern we want to help ensure that students are ready for school with the supplies they need on the first day of school,” Mr. MacLaren explained. “We recognize that purchasing school supplies may be a challenge in some homes and we embrace this opportunity to help.”
Ms. Hurst explained, “To assist those students, PIE will have a bright yellow school bus parked in front of Staples in New Bern on Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Generous shoppers can donate school supplies for students who have been identified as in-need by their school counselors and principals. The supplies collected will be disbursed once school starts by the school principals.”
Volunteers from the schools and our community will be on hand and honking the horn of the school bus each time a donation is made as a way of showing thanks.
A shopping list is currently available on the PIE website at CravenPartners.com, and is listed on the individual schools’ websites. Monetary donations will be accepted through the PIE website.
For those who can’t make it to the event, feel free to drop off school supplies year-round at the PIE office, located in the Craven County Schools Central Services office at 3600 Trent Road.
Many businesses have agreed to be drop-off locations and will collect items until Friday, August 19th. They are:
AlphaGraphics of New Bern at 3731 Trent Road, New Bern
B/S/H Home Appliances at 100 Bosch Blvd., New Bern
Baxter Family Eye Care at 3000 Trent Road, New Bern
Century 21 Zaytoun-Raines at 312 S. Front St., New Bern
Craven County Schools at 3600 Trent Road, New Bern
Edward Jones Investments – Dan Roberts at 301 S. Front St., New Bern
Dick Broadcasting (WRNS and Bob 93.3) at 1361 Colony Dr., New Bern
International Paper (main office) at 1785 Weyerhaeuser Road, Vanceboro
Mitchell Hardware at 215 Craven St., New Bern
Navy Federal Credit Union at 121 US Hwy. 70 West, Havelock
Optimum at 3541 Dr. MLK, Jr., Blvd.
Rankin & Fiume Orthodontics at 608 McCarthy Blvd.
Robinson Family Dental at 610 Miller Blvd., Havelock (Tue-Thu)
Rowland & the Home Sales Team at 2102 Trent Road. (Open House to collect supplies on Aug. 6)
Staples New Bern at 3230 Dr. M.L. King, Jr. Blvd., New Bern
Toyota of New Bern at 5010 US Hwy 70 East, New Bern
Trent Cadillac Buick GMC at 1707 US 70, New Bern
Truist at 375 S. Front St., New Bern
Tuscarora Landfill at 7400 Old Hwy 70 West, New Bern
Two Rivers Church at 3321 Neuse Blvd., New Bern (Mon, Tue, Thu: 9-12; Wed, Fri: 9-4)
United Bank at 1725 S. Glenburnie Road, New Bern
United Bank at 412 S. Front St., New Bern
Last year, through the generosity of our community, Partners In Education received $80,000 in donations and was able to assist students in all 26 schools. Based on this success, Partners In Education is recruiting the help of all our community partners so that we are able to reach even more students this year.
Ms. Hurst announced that a record 52 organizations have partnered with PIE as Major Partners, demonstrating a strong sense of community and support of our public schools They are: Academy Sports + Outdoors, AlphaGraphics of New Bern, B/S/H Home Appliances, Baxter Family Eye Care, CarolinaEast Health System, Century 21 Zaytoun-Raines, Chatsworth Products, Coastal Carolina Health Care, Coastal Grove Family Dentistry, Craven County Wood Energy, Edward Jones Investments Financial Advisors – Michael Bass, Charles Benson III, Georgiana Bowman Bircher, Joanna Carr, Kevin Page, Taylor Paramore, Dan M. Roberts IV, Jordan Silver, Michael Sprague, First Citizens Bank, International Paper, Marine Federal Credit Union, MetroNet, Mitchell Hardware, Moen, Morgan’s Tavern & Grill, Neuse River Region Association of REALTORS, Inc., New Bern Now, Optimum, Piedmont Natural Gas, Pierce Group Benefits, Rankin & Fiume Orthodontics, Robinson Family Dental, Rotary Club of New Bern, Rowland & the Home Sales Team, Savage’s Wood Burning Pizzeria, Smithfield Foods, Staples New Bern, Sumrell Sugg, Attorneys at Law, Sun Journal, Taco Bell, Toyota of New Bern, Trent Cadillac Buick GMC, Truist, United Bank, Weyerhaeuser Co., White & Allen, Williams Scarborough Gray, LLP, WITN-TV, WRNS 95.1, WERO Bob 93.3, and Zaxby’s
If you know a student in need of school supplies, contact the principal at your student’s school. All items collected are distributed through the school counselors and principals.
For more information about this event, or how you can support PIE, contact Darlene Brown at 514-6321. Visit the PIE website at CravenPartners.com to learn more about the programs offered by Partners In Education.
Partners In Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that provides grant funding and special programs to classrooms and schools within the Craven County Schools system.
By Darlene Brown