Hundreds of toys gathered at Plum's sixth Stuff-A-Bus event
Awesome.
It was the only word Shari Klein could find as she participated in Plum Borough School District’s sixth annual Stuff-A-Bus event Dec. 9.
“There’s no other word for it, except awesome,” she said.
She was one of several teachers and staff who helped transfer the donated toys from vehicles to big bags destined for a school bus. The toys would then later go to families who might not be able to purchase toys for the holidays.
Klein said she was speechless, in part, because of the Plum EMS ambulance that had just unloaded a literal truckload of toys for the event.
“That’s never happened before,” she said.
The borough’s EMS director, Brian Maloney, said he has donated toys before for this event in particular.
“I used to just carry them in my arms,” he said. “But this year it just kept growing and growing and growing.”
Officials from the EMS department collected donated toys from Oakmont’s Hanna Health Care Center and Concordia at Ridgewood Place, among others.
“It got to the point where we were just throwing the toys in the ambulance,” Maloney said.
He said he had no idea how many toys made it inside.
The event is one of several in the region taking part in the Allegheny Valley Marine Corps League Detachment 827 Toys for Tots. Chaplain Marine Andy Burch said the detachment had around 780 families who signed up for the service this year.
“I’m humbled seeing this,” Burch said. “We’re privileged to have this kind of support. We’re steering the big bus, you could say, but it’s all because of people like this that we’re able to do this. We couldn’t do it without them.”
The ambulance wasn’t the only donor. A steady stream of vehicles moved through the front entrance of Plum Senior High School from 6 to 8 p.m. A volunteer used a lighted wand to direct traffic down a Christmas-lighted path, where cars were greeted by more volunteers eager to accept the toys.
The toys were then placed in a cardboard box, which was lined with large bags. Once filled, another volunteer would haul it to a school bus designated for transporting the goods.
“This year we did things a little different to stay safe,” Klein said.
Klein, the high school principal’s administrative assistant, organized the event. Typically, students act as the volunteers. This year, teachers, staff and school police helped out.
“It’s just been wonderful. Everybody’s chipped in and helped and done everything they can to make this a great event,” she said.
The event, at points, resembled a reunion, as parents drove up to the curb with their masked children sitting in the backseats. Many waved enthusiastically to teachers they recognized.
Most volunteers donned festive colors. Assistant Superintendent Denise Sedlacek dressed in a Santa hat and danced with other volunteers to yuletide tunes blasting through a speaker. Even the school’s Mustang mascot dressed up in a Santa hat, red scarf, a face mask and colorful lights hung as a necklace.
Bill Jeffcoat, a Plum resident who serves with the Marine Corps League, was especially moved by the generosity displayed.
“To see this much kindness, especially in these trying times when people are struggling to put food on the table, let alone donate toys? Unbelievable,” he said.
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