Community Helps "Pack The Bus" For Local Students
Synergy Bank and United Way of South Louisiana hosted the 9th annual school supply drive benefiting Terrebonne and Lafourche Parish children in need. With the help of the community, thousands of school supply items were collected for distribution through the school districts.
“The Pack the Bus School Supply Drive helps to provide students with the basic tools they need to thrive,” Jerry Ledet, Synergy Bank President and CEO, said. “Synergy Bank is honored to work with other community-minded businesses and the United Way to help local families in need.”
Throughout the month of July, community members and businesses collected school supplies for the drive. On July 28, Synergy Bank and United Way representatives traveled by school bus to each drop-off location to “pack the bus” with the donated supplies. Supplies were then sorted, divided equally, and delivered to Terrebonne Parish School District and Lafourche Parish School District.
Collected supplies included notebooks, paper, pencils, pens, highlighters, markers, crayons, backpacks, glue sticks, erasers, folders, binders, lunch boxes, and much more. In addition, Synergy Bank donated 20,000 pencils and South Central Louisiana Human Services Authority donated 1,000 backpacks.
“We can’t thank those who donated school supplies for Pack the Bus enough,” United Way Executive Director Alina Merlos said. “Having the right tools can produce the confidence a child needs to focus on learning and ensure his or her success.”
We thank the many local businesses that participated and assisted with the Pack the Bus School Supply Drive, including: Bayou Cane Sports Bar, Bayou Country Children's Museum, Big Mikes BBQ Smokehouse, Break the Trend Boutique, Crab Trap CrossFit, CrossFit Home Brew, Delta Sigma Theta Bayou Lafourche Area Alumnae Chapter, First United Methodist Church of Thibodaux, Fletcher Technical Community College, Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce, Howard Nixon Music Scholarship Foundation, Lafourche Parish Libraries, LaPorte CPAs & Business Advisors, LOOP, Nicholls State University, Nick Hebert Insurance, Paisley Park, Pelican Waste & Debris, Raising Cane’s #013, Raising Canes #058, Raising Canes #059, RelyOn Nutec, South Central Industrial Association, South Louisiana Bank, Synergy Bank, Terrebonne Folklife Cultural Center, Terrebonne General Health System, Terrebonne Ministerial Alliance, Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce, Thibodaux Playhouse, Thibodaux Regional Health System, Unitech Training Academy, United Community Bank, USI Insurance Services, and Valley Supply Co.
Families in need of school supplies should contact Kwanzaa Johnson (Terrebonne Parish) at 985-879-6400 ext. 264 and Quentina Brown (Lafourche Parish) at 985-532-2508.
