UNC Health Care holds school supply drive to 'Stuff The Bus'

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- After a week of school supply drives at UNC Health Care locations in Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Johnston County, employees and volunteers spent a day sorting and stuffing all the donated items into a school bus parked at the UNC Rex Health Care campus.

"This school bus will head to Wake County's Central office where a social work team will divide all supplies amongst the schools in greatest need," explained Kerry Heckle, a spokesperson for UNC Rex Healthcare.

The supplies will be distributed to Wake, Johnston, and Orange County public schools.

This is the second year for the school supply drive and the goal was to surpass the 7,000 supplies collected in 2017.

With more locations taking part in the drive, employees surpassed their goal with more than 13,000 supplies collected.

"This will make kids smile but it will also make teachers smile," said Wake County Board of Education member Roxie Cash. "Because they know they're going to need these tools all year."

The drive also surpassed a goal of 100 stuffed backpacks at the Raleigh location with 150 backpacks collected.