United Way of Bucks County prepares children to go back to school.
Tools for School is our annual back-to-school supply drive. United Way of Bucks County wants to ensure that every student has the tools – and confidence – that they need to excel in the classroom.
**Registration for Tools for School will open July 21, 2025. Check back for updates.**
HOW TO GET HELP
To be eligible for Tools for School, your child(ren) must be; in need, a resident of Bucks County, PA, and entering grades K-12.
**Please note that submitting an application DOES NOT guarantee that you will receive school supplies. We try our best to help as many people as possible, but we depend on community support. **
Please click below to learn more about registration requirements.
Please fill out the form completely and accurately. Be sure your contact information is current in case we need to contact you.
To pick up your school supplies, you will need to bring documentation to your scheduled pick-up. We are unable to provide you with school supplies without documentation — no exceptions.
To receive school supplies, you will need to bring:
- a valid photo ID showing the address you registered with (we will check this, but don’t need a copy),
- documentation of your child’s age and grade level. You may log in to your school districts online portal to show your child’s account. If you do not have a portal, you must show another document, i.e., school ID, report/progress card, email or letter from a guidance counselor, etc.,
- an “ACCESS” (food stamp or cash assistance) Card.
If you do not have an ACCESS card, any of the following will be acceptable:
- Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) card for your children.
- Copy of free or reduced lunch form for current school year.
- A brief letter from a school nurse, guidance counselor, or social worker stating that they know your family and you are in need of school supplies.
- A brief letter from the leader of your faith-based organization on their letterhead stating that they know your family and you are in need of school supplies.
- Letter of separation or reduced hours from employer.
******PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL THESE ITEMS. ******
Stuff the Bus has evolved into Tools for School—a community-driven program designed to help equip students with the tools they need to thrive.
What’s Changing This Year?
As part of this evolution, we are scaling up essentials available through our HELP Center and scaling down bulk backpack distributions and will be phasing out bulk school supply distributions to agency partners.
- We are expanding our direct service model through Tools for School and the HELP Center.
- Agency partners can no longer request bulk backpacks or supplies through Tools for School.
How Can You Support This Transition?
- Refer families to other community-based programs. Over the past few years, dozens of nonprofits and businesses have launched new school supply programs. Start with the ones most local to your district.
- Families experiencing material hardship can be referred to the HELP Center, which provides essential goods for eligible households. Appointments can be requested at www.uwbucks.org/helpcenterappt.
- Please do not share the Tools for School registration form broadly. It is intended only for families with no other available support. We are working with extremely limited supplies and want to ensure we’re reaching those most in need.
Thank you again for your partnership and commitment to local families. We’re excited about the direction of this program and deeply grateful for all you do to support students in our community.
Stuff the Bus has evolved into Tools for School—a community-driven program designed to help equip students with the tools they need to thrive. Together, we can ensure every student has the support they need to succeed—both in school and in life. A flyer with more details about this transition is attached for your reference.
What’s Changing This Year?
As part of this evolution, we are scaling up essentials available through our HELP Center and scaling down bulk backpack distributions.
- This year, each school district may request up to 50 backpacks to distribute to students with the greatest level of need.
- We encourage you to use your discretion and local knowledge to reserve these for students who may not have access to other resources.
When the form is available, you’ll be able to request backpacks here: www.uwbucks.org/tools-for-school-get-help
How Can You Support This Transition?
- Refer families to other community-based programs. Over the past few years, dozens of nonprofits and businesses have launched new school supply programs. Start with the ones most local to your district.
- Families experiencing material hardship can be referred to the HELP Center, which provides essential goods for eligible households. Appointments can be requested at www.uwbucks.org/helpcenterappt.
- Please do not share the Tools for School registration form broadly. It is intended only for families with no other available support. We are working with extremely limited supplies and want to ensure we’re reaching those most in need.
Thank you again for your partnership and commitment to local students. We’re excited about the direction of this program and deeply grateful for all you do to support families in your schools.
If you are a school district representative, please fill out the form completely and accurately. Be sure your contact information is current in case we need to contact you.
**Note: This program is exclusively for families with a significant need. Please only request school supplies to fulfill your immediate needs.
Representatives from School Districts will be asked upon completion of this form to upload a list of recipients. Please list the following: child(ren’)s sex (m/f), age, race, and ethnicity. You will not need to provide their names.
Click here to download the template for your registration list (please only use this template). You can upload this directly to the form when you complete your registration below.
** School districts must compile ALL requests into one registration submission. Multiple submissions will not be accepted**
There will be a maximum request limit of 50 backpacks per district.
Please email katiem@uwbucks.org with questions.
Who is eligible for Tools for School? To be eligible, your child(ren) must be; in need, a resident of Bucks County, PA, and be entering grades K-12. The person making this request must be the primary caregiver (except if you are a school or agency representative making a request for your organization). Please do not apply if your child(ren) do not meet the above criteria.
How long will you accept requests for? We will accept requests as long as we believe we can meet them based on community donations.
How will I know if I am approved? Upon successful completion of this form, you will be sent a confirmation email to verify that your submission was received. Once all submissions are received and reviewed, you will be emailed an approval with pick-up instructions if your request can be filled.
How will I know if I haven’t been approved? You will receive an email explaining why your application was not approved.
I didn’t receive a confirmation email. Did you get my submission? If you did not receive a confirmation email, please check your spam/junk email folder. Please make sure to fill out all required fields designated by an asterisk (*).
Please also note, your request is successfully submitted when you are taken to the confirmation page stating, “Thanks for registering for Tools for School!”. If you are not taken to this screen, your request was not submitted. If you do not properly submit your request, we will not be able to process your application. Thank you for understanding.
Who do I contact if my child(ren) are not eligible? If you need help but your children do not qualify, please contact PA 211.
Who can I contact if I have other questions? If you have a question not addressed here, please email Katie Matarazzo at katiem@uwbucks.org.
Tools for School 2025 is presented by Univest Financial and is sponsored by Comcast, Foundations Community Partnership, PECO, Peoples Security Bank & Trust.