Sun Tran has established strong partnerships with local media outlets and businesses to help organizations in Tucson by “Stuffing the Bus” for various causes. These partnerships have effectively benefitted local organizations while boosting Sun Tran’s presence in the community for more than a decade.
Most recently, Sun Tran and KGUN 9 Television joined forces to host four Stuff-the-Bus events in the past four months to benefit EMERGE! Center Against Domestic Abuse, the Tucson Community Food Bank, Salvation Army and the American Red Cross. These events stuffed nearly eight Sun Tran buses with 11,700 toys, 8,800 pounds of food and $4,000 in value of donated household items to benefit these local organizations and the families they serve. Additionally, $21,900 in cash donations was also collected.
Since first partnering with KGUN 9 in 2001, Sun Tran has hosted 35 “Stuff-the-Bus” events and helped collect 124,000 pounds of food, $142,000 in cash donations and 155,000 toys to benefit individuals and families throughout Pima County, as local, national and international disaster relief efforts.
“The Stuff-the-Bus events are successful because of the dedication of our employees, the recognition of our buses at the donation locations, and the media coverage provided by our media partners,” said Kate Riley, Sun Tran General Manager. “At Sun Tran, we pride ourselves on being more than just a transit provider. These events allow us to be more connected with the community we serve.”
“It’s through community support like Sun Tran’s that The Salvation Army is able to serve the families and children at our Christmas Toy Distribution,” said Ashley Lueders, director of public relations for The Salvation Army.
“The Sun Tran, Stuff-the-Bus events over the past 10 years have been a much needed addition to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona’s food drives,” said Bill Carnegie, Food Bank President/CEO. “The Stuff-the-Bus events, in partnership with KGUN 9, have collected thousands of pounds of food and thousands of dollars to help feed needy families in our community.”
Sun Tran is operated by Professional Transit Management (PTM)/Veolia and under contract with the city of Tucson. With more than 600 employees, 40 fixed routes and a fleet of 253 buses, Sun Tran’s mission is to work together to improve the community’s quality of life by providing safe, efficient, reliable customer-focused public transportation.
