On the morning of Saturday, September 28, several First Trust Credit Union employees headed out to Al’s Supermarket stores (Karwick Plaza & Franklin Street) in Michigan City for the 21st annual Stuff-A-Bus event. This donation drive helps keep The Salvation Army of Michigan City’s food pantry stocked and ready to help families in need. At the Franklin store, volunteers from First Trust Credit Union,The Salvation Army, WIMS Radio, and the Michigan City community loaded the donated bags of Al’s Supermarket groceries onto a school bus, contributed by Michigan City Area Schools, that then transported the groceries to the The Salvation Army.
Michigan City community members were invited to bring a variety of items from home to donate, including peanut butter, hot and cold cereal, canned pasta, and canned chili. For five dollars, Al’s Supermarket customers could purchase a bag filled with about $10 worth of food, including tuna, canned vegetables, canned soup, and mac ‘n’ cheese. Customers could also purchase and donate five dollar meat vouchers if they chose. This year, the volunteers worked in tandem with the Stuff-A-Bus team at the Al’s Supermarket in Karwick Plaza in Michigan City to get over 1100 bags donated.
First Trust’s Marketing Director, Dorene Martinson, was very pleased to see such a successful turnout of donations this year. Martinson said, “This event is so very important to our community and we (First Trust) have the responsibility of organizing this event every year for The Salvation Army, as they are our Michigan City branch’s number one charity partner. All of our branch locations in Michigan City, LaPorte, Valpo, and Wheatfield have one or two charity partners that we work with on a consistent basis.” She added, “Giving back to the community is an important part of credit union values, and I am so grateful to be a part of this event every year, along with my co-workers and our generous members who donate every year to this worthy cause.”
Michigan City Salvation Army Major Becky Simmons always enjoys seeing the effect the Stuff-A-Bus event has on the Michigan City community.
“We at the Salvation Army love that the people of Michigan City understand what community means,” Simmons said. “They realize community is about all of us coming together to help one another out, and this event is an excellent example of that. Seeing all of these Michigan City residents come out and buy donation bags demonstrates that they value each family and human being in the community and don’t want any of them to go hungry. We do our best to serve the people the best we possibly can and we deeply appreciate everyone who supports us.”
The Stuff-A-Bus volunteers also were accepting non-food items like shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, and soap. Baby diapers and wipes were also being accepted to support The Salvation Army’s monthly Diaper Bank.
Over the years, Leslyn Quartuccio, Collector at First Trust Credit Union, has only missed one or two Stuff-A-Bus events during the program’s run. She is happy to participate in the event’s 21st run.
“I enjoy participating in the Stuff-A-Bus event every year and giving up a little bit of my time to help somebody else,” Quartuccio said. “The motto of First Trust Credit Union is ‘People helping people.’ Stuff-A-Bus is a big event for us, but we donate plenty of money every year to charities too. We want to do everything we can to help. The Salvation Army food pantry supports a lot of people, so they need all the help they can get to replenish it. We had a truly beautiful day for this year’s Stuff-A-Bus event. ”
Justin Teets, newly promoted store manager at the Al’s Supermarket location on Franklin Street, is pleased to help out with the Stuff-A-Bus here in the first week since his promotion.
“Al’s Supermarket has been involved with the Stuff-A-Bus event since I started with the company 21 years ago,” Teets said. “We always appreciate having the opportunity to give back to the community that has supported us over the years. It’s great to see people from all over Michigan City work together to achieve a common goal. Hopefully, all of the volunteers here today are proud to have helped the needy families in our area.”
Ric Federighi, owner of WIMS Radio, is excited to engage with his community and give support to those who need it at the Stuff-A-Bus event.
“The organizations that sent representatives out here today know how important the Stuff-A-Bus event is to everyone in our community,” Federighi said. “The Salvation Army here in Michigan City helps thousands of people throughout the year, so they need all the support they can get. I hope people will encourage their children, grandchildren, parents, friends, and neighbors to come out to events like this and help make a difference. You can show your support by volunteering or donating money, backpacks, diapers, and food. We love working with the Salvation Army and appreciate everything they do for Michigan City.”
Baker Kate Willie, one of the volunteers, has been participating in the Stuff-A-Bus event since she was two years old. This is the 10th year that Willie has volunteered and she looks forward to continuing the tradition.
“I like helping people who really need it,” Willie said. “It makes me feel happy and good about myself. Over the years, I’ve helped out with several different aspects of the Stuff-A-Bus event by handing out flyers to customers so they know what to donate and taking the bags from the store to the bus. It’s a lot of fun. I’m definitely going to keep volunteering at this event in the future.”
You can learn more about First Trust Credit Union’s services and programs by visiting firsttrustcu.com.
