‘Stuff the Bus’ donations distributed - 3,000 pounds of supplies collected for area schools in Edinboro University inauguration service project

11/16/2012

Countless pencils, reams of paper and many other donated school supplies stacked high on the seats and crowding the aisle of a full-size bus made Edinboro University’s Stuff the Bus campaign a resounding success.

In all, 3,000 pounds of school supplies were collected, Dr. Melissa Gibson, Community Outreach Director, said.

“The bus was completely packed,” Gibson said of the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority bus decorated in Edinboro colors and logos that served as the collection point for donated supplies.

Through the generosity of the campus community and the wider Edinboro and Erie communities, much-needed items are being made available to young students at several area schools. The first delivery was made Nov. 8 at Edinboro Elementary School, where University President Julie E. Wollman read to students.

The Stuff the Bus effort, one of the largest and the longest events on the Inauguration Week schedule at more than four days, was organized by the University’s Community Outreach Center and School of Education as a tribute to Dr. Wollman’s lifelong commitment to education, Dr. Gibson said.

The Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority, McDonald’s Restaurant, WJET 24, FOX 66 and yourErie.com assisted with the campaign.

Stuff the Bus was launched Nov. 1 at the McDonald’s outside the Millcreek Mall and continued Nov. 5-7 in on the Edinboro campus.

In addition to Edinboro Elementary, the supplies collected are being given to Northwestern and Union City elementary schools, as well as McKean and Mill Village elementary schools, which were added because the outpouring of donations was so great, Dr. Gibson said.

President Wollman was inaugurated as the 17th leader and first woman president of university on Nov. 9.

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Senior Has Front-Row Seat for Presidential Inauguration Activities as Communication Intern

An Eastern Kentucky University senior will experience Inauguration Day activities from a perspective not shared by many – behind the scenes.

Nicolette Coontz, a broadcasting major from Stanford, will be in Washington, D.C., Jan. 18-23 working with former Florida governor Jeb Bush as an inaugural communication event intern. She is one of three lead interns for the educational events associated with Inauguration Day. Coontz will also assist prominent political analysts James Carville, who directed the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton, and Mary Matalin.

Her duties will include attending press events to discuss the history and projected future of the Electoral College process, and working with the media and various inaugural conferences that will be taking place during the inaugural season.

On Inauguration Day, she will be part of a press team in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History on the National Mall during the ceremony, and then move to assist sideline coordination of the inaugural parade.  She will also attend the evening Gala Celebration to commemorate the 52nd Presidential Inauguration.

“Eastern Kentucky University has prepared me in various ways for this internship,” Coontz said. “The Department of Communication has truly molded me into a knowledgeable young adult and equipped me with the necessary skills needed to work in those specialized career fields.”

Coontz, who was crowned EKU Homecoming Queen last fall and serves as president of the mass communications honor society Kappa Tau Alpha, also credits her involvement with campus organizations for helping her gain the perseverance needed to achieve her aspirations.

A two-month summer internship with the London-based Channel 5 during the 2012 Olympic Games also strengthened her goal to become a news broadcaster or media communications specialist after graduation.

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