On September 8, the 15th Annual Stuff-A-Bus event took place at both Al’s Supermarket locations in Michigan City. First Trust Credit Union, Al’s Supermarket, Michigan City Salvation Army, and Michigan City School Corporation teamed up to help support and provide goods for the Michigan City Salvation Army food pantry. First Trust Credit Union served as the event’s organizer, the school system provided the school buses for the day, Al’s provided all of the items, and the Salvation Army’s food pantry benefited from all the donations and volunteer work. WEFM Radio and WIMS Radio also sponsored the event, broadcasting live at both Al’s Supermarket locations on Franklin St. and Karwick Rd.
Customers of Al’s could help the Salvation Army in three ways: Donating $5.00 for a ready-made bag of groceries, purchasing a $5.00 meat voucher to be used by the Salvation Army, or buying extra items and dropping them off at the bus in the Al’s parking lot.
“At this time of year, the Salvation Army’s food shelves are usually pretty low from the summer,” said First Trust Marketing Director Dorene Martinson. “Part of our big mission at First Trust is giving back to the community as well as being a part of it, so this event is perfect for us to help one of our major charity partners, the Salvation Army.”
The Michigan City Salvation Army serves an average of 300 families per month. Events like Stuff-A-Bus allow the organization to continue filling their food shelves and providing necessities for less fortunate families around the area. The event was successful due to the teamwork between all of the sponsors and the people of Michigan City.
“I believe that team effort is key for events like this,” said Salvation Army Corps Officer Major Rebecca Simmons. “Any time that you have a team effort, you end up with something bigger and better than what you would have by yourself. I know that the people of Michigan City truly believe in their community and want to make sure that everybody has enough food and basic needs.”
The people of Michigan City and Al’s customers were happy to learn about the event and also donate to the cause. Customer David Scott from Michigan City said the event was very “efficient and easy for customers to contribute to the local Salvation Army.” People could help the Salvation Army by purchasing pre-made $5 food bags or $5 meat vouchers at the check-out registers, bringing their own items from home, or they could simply make a monetary donation in the Salvation Army red collection kettles.
The event secured a total of 9,005 lbs of food, 207 meat vouchers, and $262 in monetary donations. Stuff-A-Bus was a huge success, thanks to the amazing team of sponsors like First Trust Credit Union and the Michigan City community.
