Recently, Communities in Schools of South King County (CISSKC) held their annual Fill the Bus event at Kent Station. Volunteers from CISSKC and the Rotary Club of Kent were stationed alongside a wheel-chair accessible school bus to accept school supply donations slated for distribution among students at Kent School District (KSD) and Federal Way Public Schools (FWPS).

“Our goal each year is to fill the bus as full as possible,” said Angela Stave, Development Director for CISSKC. “Then, starting tomorrow, we start to divvy things up to staff that work in the schools.”

KSD administrators and staff were present during the Fill the Bus event and expressed their gratitude for the work CISSKC does to support local students.

 “Communities in Schools of South King County is one of our biggest partners in the school district, supporting 20 of our schools with site coordinators,” said Dr. Wade Barringer, Deputy Superintendent of KSD. “A lot of our site coordinators are able to personally hand these supplies to our kids in their schools.”

CISSKC is a nonprofit organization which employs the national Communities in Schools® (CIS®) model of Integrated Student Support, designed to address the unique needs of local students and provide a foundation for success. CISSKC staff work in 27 KSD and FWPS schools, assisting students from a wide range of backgrounds. The organization’s school-based site coordinators aid students by providing access to needed resources and one-on-one services, including mentoring, academic help, and physical and mental health care. Their annual Fill the Bus School Supply Collection drive is one of the ways the organization supplements ongoing student needs throughout the school year.