Load the Bus school supply drive finished this weekend, organizers delighted with donations

Roanoke, Virginia – School officials on Monday across the Roanoke Valley started unloading school supplies from buses that were donated throughout the weekend.

Load the Bus program is held every year. School supplies are distributed to children in need through the program. The program this year was also supported by all Walmart locations in the Roanoke Valley. Shoppers had the opportunity to donate school supplies at the designated bins and busses at Walmart stores.

Organizers said they are very delighted with the received donations even before tallying the final count. The program was not held last year due to Covid-19 pandemic.

“Tough to tell right now because everything is in boxes. Once we get everything out and we have our counts, we’ll kind of get a better handle as to whether we think that it was better than 2019 or not. We’re pretty full right now, so it’s looking promising,” Chuck Lionberger said, Director of Community Relations for Roanoke County Public Schools.

The donation drive’s official numbers will be presented to the school board in the following weeks. Students in the Roanoke City, Roanoke County, and Salem school systems benefit from the Load the Bus program.