Stuff the Bus returns for 11th year of collecting toys for children in Bay County

Ebonee Burrell, The News Herald
·3 min read

PANAMA CITY — An annual toy drive has kicked off in Panama City to help change the lives of thousands of children this Christmas.

Sunday marked the first day of the 11th annual Stuff the Bus toy drive, which has a goal to collect 10,000 new, unwrapped toys for children in Bay County. As part of the tradition, Skip Bondur, who organizes the drive, camps out on a bus rooftop for 10 days or until the goal is met—rain or shine.

A colorful school bus is stationed in the parking lot of Walmart on 23rd Street until Dec. 14 to collect toys for local children in need. The toys are donated to Toys for Tots of Panama City, which then distributes them to local organizations.

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“The one thing that our house provides us is consistency, but those things are insignificant to what we’re focusing on and what we want to do,” Bondur said about the reason he camps on the bus. “It’s humbling to be able to share hope and joy, and our ultimate goal is to be ministers in the community. There have been countless stories throughout the years of people who are impacted by our drive.”

The 11th annual Stuff the Bus toy drive is set up in the parking lot of Walmart on 23rd Street. The drive set a goal to collect 10,000 toys by Dec. 14, 2022.
The 11th annual Stuff the Bus toy drive is set up in the parking lot of Walmart on 23rd Street. The drive set a goal to collect 10,000 toys by Dec. 14, 2022.

Toy donations for all ages are accepted, as well as monetary donations. All donations can be made at the designated location through the end of the drive.

Those who donate will have the opportunity to participate in raffles and giveaways while supplies last. Some of the prizes this year include a new recliner, a custom guitar and coupons for local businesses.

Lesley Bondur, Skip’s wife, said it’s always fun engaging with the community while supporting a great cause.

“We have different giveaways we plan to do throughout the drive and usually people will get something until we run out,” Lesley said. “I love being a part of this because it’s always exciting to see the smile and joy in people's faces when they give.”

From left, Abigal Bondur, Susan Decker and Wayne Decker are set up at the Stuff the Bus donation tent on Dec. 5, 2022.
From left, Abigal Bondur, Susan Decker and Wayne Decker are set up at the Stuff the Bus donation tent on Dec. 5, 2022.

Stuff the Bus has grown significantly in toy donations throughout the years. Bondur remembers the first drive collected just under 2,000 toys, and now it has raised more than 20,000 toys per year since 2018. In the past, the drive has also collected food and shoes in addition to toys.

“It seems that every year we’ve had to bring in additional containers to transport the toys. At first, we’ve started with just the bus and trailers, but now we’ve progressed to two 27-foot box trucks and that still doesn’t even carry it all,” Bondur said. “We typically have to make shipments to the warehouse throughout the process.”

During this year’s drive, Bondur will spend his 100th night on the bus and anticipates hitting a milestone of 150,000 toys donated since its inaugural drive.

For more about this year’s toy drive or to follow announcements, visit StuffTheBus.org.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Stuff the Bus toy drive returns for 11th year in Bay County