Princeton Herald

Courtesy photo
Santa and his assistant, C.J. Moore, greet passersby in front of Dollar General. Together with volunteers they have been collecting donations for the Stuff-the-Bus drive in several locations. To see more photos from the Stuff-the-Bus drive click on any image, or click here.

By Jennifer Fike
Staff Writer

PISD and the Lions Club’s annual Stuff-the-Bus campaign is well on its way, but Santa still needs help providing Christmas gifts for more than 250 area kids.

Since Nov. 14 Santa and a dedicated team of volunteers have been collecting food, clothing and toys for children in need. Trading in his sleigh for a school bus, Jolly Old Saint Nick has collected bags full of donations, but he’s not done yet.

Saturday, Dec. 12, Santa and his helpers will be at the Dollar General in Princeton passing out candy canes, collecting donations, and crooning Christmas classics on a karaoke machine. All the donations will go to Princeton children and their families.

“The program is designed to help our most needy children,” Sabrina Wayman said. Wayman, a secretary at Harper Elementary and PISD bus driver, sees firsthand how many children in this area are in need.

She and her husband Ric Wayman, a PISD employee and Lions Club member, helped begin the Stuff-the-Bus drive in 2006, and Mrs. Wayman has been its coordinator ever since.

“Some kids will come to school wearing shorts all winter. Others may have outgrown their shoes, or tell their teachers about financial problems at home,” Mrs. Wayman said. The Stuff-the-Bus program helps ensure all the children in this community have a happy holiday.

Wayman refers to the children Stuff-the-Bus helps as “angels,” and last week those angels’ names were added to the Christmas trees at Citizens State Bank and First Bank in town.

Residents can adopt angels or donate any amount to help with the charitable drive at either bank location or any PISD school.

“Citizens State Bank has been a part of Princeton since 1907. We’ve always had employees involved with the Lions Club. It’s only natural for us to support our community and be a part of Stuff-the-Bus,” said Susan Tillman, Banking Officer at Citizens State.

“With the struggling economy and staggering unemployment rates, families in our community need a boost now more than ever,” Tillman said. “Having an angel tree here and at First Bank helps broadcast this need out to more people, our customers,” she said.

Those who can’t afford to adopt an angel, can still give, Tillman said, thanking the bank’s customers in advance for their support.

By Dec. 7, more than 200 children had already been adopted by school district staff, local churches and community members. But as Mrs. Wayman pointed out, additional donations will be needed to provide for more than 30 angels who have not yet been adopted.

Individual items and monetary donations will be used primarily to supplement the angels who have not been adopted. However, some of the donations will also be distributed among the children who might have received fewer gifts than the other adopted kids.

In addition to toys, volunteers try to ensure that each child receives some clothing and often a pair of shoes. If a student is without a coat, volunteers try to provide that too.

Referrals for the Stuff-a-Bus drive are made primarily by district employees who are able to note specific needs they have identified. This year a three-person committee selected the angels based on the financial needs of the families.

The children’s families are also offered food donations.

Many recipients say they would not have had a Christmas if it had not been for the help, Wayman said. “Over the years, to see the tears on the parents’ faces as they are picking up the gifts for their children,” Mrs. Wayman said ... is a powerful thing.

Stuff-a-Bus helps many families that may have been facing medical problems, job losses or other major crises, Mrs. Wayman said. A lot of them would never ask for help, but they are grateful for the support, she said.

“The best is when I call and tell them they were referred to the program and their response is ‘Oh my God, how did you know we were in need? We were just trying to figure out how we were going to do Christmas this year,’” Mrs. Wayman said. “I always respond with ‘Santa told me.’”

Rather than delivering the gifts, volunteers invite parents to pick up the items from a location sometimes referred to as Santa’s workshop.

The kids don’t need to know where the gifts come from, Mrs. Wayman said. As far as they are concerned, the gifts are from their parents or Santa, she said.

Since its start in 2006, the Stuff-a-Bus program has grown exponentially. “This program started with, I believe, 80 children our first year and has grown to over 250 children,” Mrs. Wayman said. She said she wanted to thank residents, while asking for their continued support of the “little angels.”

Photos by Jennifer Fike