There is something powerful about a backpack filled with fresh notebooks, pencils, crayons and glue sticks. For a child, it can mean walking into the first day of school feeling prepared. For a parent, it can mean one less expense in a season already filled with hard choices.
This year, United Way of Greater Nashville’s 18th annual Stuff the Bus school supply drive helped 16,060 elementary students across Middle Tennessee begin the school year with the tools they need to learn. Thanks to generous community support, the campaign exceeded its goal of 15,000 backpacks by 1,060, meeting most of the documented need of over 18,000 students across UWGN’s service footprint.
The need is especially urgent as back-to-school costs add pressure to already stretched household budgets. According to Deloitte’s 2026 Back-to-School Survey, parents plan to spend about $557 per K-12 student this year, and 50% say they are cutting back on other expenses to make room for back-to-school spending. For ALICE families—households that are working and earning above the federal poverty level but still cannot afford basic needs like housing, child care, food, transportation and health care—those costs can bring difficult tradeoffs.
Stuff the Bus helps ease one immediate pressure point. Instead of choosing between notebooks and groceries, or pencils and gas, families receive practical support that helps children show up to class confident, prepared and ready to participate.
On July 14 and 15, 497 volunteers gathered at Nissan Stadium to drop off supplies, assemble backpacks and celebrate the impact of the campaign. Together, they contributed more than 1,988 volunteer hours, with supplies donated by 55 companies and individuals.
Those backpacks will be distributed to students at 58 locations across Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Hickman, Houston, Montgomery, Robertson, Stewart, Sumner and Williamson counties. Since Stuff the Bus began, more than 153,060 students have received the supplies they need to enter the classroom ready to learn. If you know someone in need of a backpack, reach out to UWGN’s 211 Helpline.
United Way of Greater Nashville thanks the sponsors and partners who made this year’s drive possible, including Tennessee Titans, Amazon, Asurion, Atmos Energy, Costco, Cummins, Earl Swenson Associates, EY, Ingram, Google, Lifepoint Health, Publix Charities, Regions, 6th Man Movers, Spire, UPS, Veritiv, Waste Management Services and Hands On powered by United Way of Greater Nashville.
To learn more, visit unitedwaygreaternashville.org/stuff-the-bus.
—Kris Weise, Director Marketing and Communications
www.unitedwaygreaternashville.org
