{"id":323682,"date":"2026-06-29T19:29:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T19:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/323682\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T19:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T19:29:08","slug":"its-time-to-stuff-the-bus-for-2026-how-to-donate-school-supplies-to-first-coast-kids-in-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/323682\/","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s time to Stuff The Bus for 2026! How to donate school supplies to First Coast kids in need"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 More than a third of Northeast Florida residents live in poverty or at the brink of poverty.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is why First Coast News On Your Side along with United Way of Northeast Florida Full Service Schools have partnered with community sponsors and partners to bring you the area&#8217;s premiere school supply drive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstcoastnews.com\/section\/stuff-the-bus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Stuff the Bus<\/a> for nearly two decades at two different locations Friday, July 31.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re also encouraged to <a href=\"https:\/\/fundraise.givesmart.com\/form\/b867eg?vid=1r5mxv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">donate directly online<\/a> with the United Way or text CLASSROOMS26 to 30306. You\u2019ll see a dropdown menu where you can choose to give to Duval County or Clay County. When you donate to Duval County, your gift purchases school supplies for the Jacksonville Public Education Fund which supports thousands of Duval County students.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere should be zero barriers to learning,\u201d said Tim Thomas, president and general manager of TEGNA Florida. \u201cAt First Coast News, we\u2019re proud to live our brand On Your Side by partnering with critical nonprofits that help our community provide essential school supplies for students in need, but also support the incredible work of our teachers. We know the First Coast wants to help, and together, we can ensure that every child\u2014regardless of their background\u2014has the tools and support they need to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019d love to see you donate to Stuff the Bus in Duval County in person on Friday, July 31 at Markets at Town Center from 6\u00a0a.m. to 6 p.m. We&#8217;ll also be in Clay County at the Staples in Orange Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t even have to leave your car. Drive up to the First Coast News On Your Side tent and our volunteers will greet you. We\u2019ll take your boxes, bags and bundles of supplies on board the bus for sorting. It\u2019s that easy.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nFAQ\u2019s HOW TO DONATE:                    <\/p>\n<p>To donate now: <a href=\"https:\/\/fundraise.givesmart.com\/form\/b867eg?vid=1r5mxv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Visit this donation link<\/a> or text \u201cCLASSROOMS26\u201d to 30306.<\/p>\n<p>Companies, churches and other groups are invited to register as a team to support Stuff the Bus.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nCome to the event:                    <\/p>\n<p>If you are donating physical items, you can find a list of most-needed supplies for the classroom or for students below. First Coast News On Your Side volunteers will greet you from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, July 31 at The Markets at Town Center in Duval County and at Staples in Orange Park in Clay County. We look forward to meeting you and to thank you for donating new school supplies at each bus.<\/p>\n<p>Each event is a touch-free drive-thru drop-off. Pack your donations in your trunk, pop your trunk upon arrival, and we do the rest!<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nDrop-off locations:                    <\/p>\n<p>Drop off supplies at one of our Stuff the Bus boxes at these Community First Credit Union locations:<\/p>\n<p>Lakewood Branch \u2013 1670 University Blvd. W, Jacksonville, FL 32217<\/p>\n<p>Riverside Branch \u2013 1012 Margaret St, Jacksonville, FL 32204<\/p>\n<p>Downtown Branch \u2013 623 N Main St, Jacksonville, FL 32202<\/p>\n<p>Mandarin Branch \u2013 11200 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32223<\/p>\n<p>Arlington Branch \u2013 7676 Merrill Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32277<\/p>\n<p>Westside Branch \u2013 7640 103rd St, Jacksonville, FL 32210<\/p>\n<p>UNF Student Union Branch \u2013 1 UNF Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32224<\/p>\n<p>Northside Branch \u2013 1623 Edgewood Ave. W, Jacksonville, FL 32208<\/p>\n<p>Orange Park Branch \u2013 625 Blanding Blvd, Orange Park, FL 32073<\/p>\n<p>Bartram Branch \u2013 13910 Village Lake Circle, Jacksonville, FL 32258<\/p>\n<p>Hodges Branch \u2013 13808 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32224<\/p>\n<p>Fleming Island Branch \u2013 2004 East West Parkway, Fleming Island, FL 32003<\/p>\n<p>Oakleaf Branch \u2013 9690 Applecross Road, Jacksonville, FL 32222<\/p>\n<p>Lem Turner Branch \u2013 11907 Lem Turner Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32218<\/p>\n<p>Neptune Beach Branch \u2013 1425 Atlantic Blvd, Neptune Beach, FL 32266<\/p>\n<p>Beach Branch \u2013 1451 3rd Street S, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250<\/p>\n<p>Yulee Branch \u2013 463909 State Road 200 Unit 1, Yulee, FL 32097<\/p>\n<p>St. Johns Branch \u2013 3581 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd, St Augustine, FL 32084<\/p>\n<p>Boulevard Crossing \u2013 5617 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32207<\/p>\n<p>Northpoint Branch \u2013 3133 New Berlin Road, Jacksonville, FL 32226<\/p>\n<p>Gate Parkway Branch \u2013 7543 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256<\/p>\n<p>Beachwalk Branch \u2013 525 Beachwalk Shore Dr. Saint Johns, FL 32259<\/p>\n<p>Murabella Branch \u2013 5360 State Road 16, St. Augustine, FL 32092<\/p>\n<p>Callahan Branch &#8211; 542523 US Hwy 1, Callahan, FL 32011<\/p>\n<p>Corporate HQ1 \u2013 637 N. Lee St, Jacksonville, FL 32204<\/p>\n<p>Corporate HQ2 \u2013701 W. Adams St, Jacksonville, FL 32204<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 More than a third of Northeast Florida residents live in poverty or at the brink&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-323682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}