CHAMPAIGN – Donors didn't just Stuff the Bus this week. They stuffed and restuffed, until the bus runneth over.

The United Way of Champaign County's drive to collect a busload of school supplies and personal care items for social service agencies culminated Thursday with thousands of donations piled up at the Associated Transfer and Storage warehouse on Bloomington Road.

Employees of several agencies were there by 2 p.m., shopping for free diapers, crayons, school glue, shampoo and other items for their clients.

"Overwhelmed" and "speechless" was all Janice McAteer of the Developmental Services Center could muster as she looked over stacks of diapers and toilet paper and the tables covered with bottles of glue, crayons, pencils and shampoo.

She and Jennifer Carlson, director of residential services, were picking up supplies for seven different group homes, apartments, children's programs and developmental training programs run by DSC.

"Hundreds of people will benefit from this," Carlson said.

More than a dozen participating businesses collected items over the past two weeks, and an MTD loaner bus made the rounds this week to pick up the donations.

Other donors used public drive-through drop-offs at WDWS/WHMS radio, WCIA Channel 3, Christie Clinic and Jupiter's II on Wednesday and Thursday, the official kickoff for the United Way's fall fundraising campaign.

The donated items will go to the United Way's 35 nonprofit partner agencies. Whatever is left over after today's distribution will go to the Junior League's "League Locker," which distributes free school supplies to Champaign-Urbana schools, and to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank in Urbana.

Sue Grey, United Way vice president for community impact, said several busloads of donations came in during the two-day collection this week.

"The bus was stuffed and unstuffed and restuffed," she said.

On Wednesday night, when she left the bus, there was still room for her to sit. By Thursday morning, "nobody was sitting on the bus except the driver. It was crazy," she said.

At Meijer, the bus picked up more than 20 cases of notebooks. Hobbico donated 50 boxes of craft glue. Donors lined up to give even in the driving rain Thursday morning, said Lyn Jones, president and CEO of the United Way.

"It's just great. This community just knows how to dig deep," Grey said.

A separate collection in Rantoul will stay in that community, with donations going to the Community Service Center of Champaign County.

The drive was also conducted in Mahomet and St. Joseph, and people there will benefit as well, Grey said.

Volunteers from Lincoln's Challenge Academy in Rantoul helped sort the donations in Champaign on Thursday and carried boxes of toilet paper, diapers and other products to waiting vans from member agencies.

"Everybody's kind of pitched in," Grey said.

John Sullivan, executive director of the Center for Women in Transition, was picking out items for the homeless women and children at that shelter as well as at A Woman's Place domestic violence shelter. He wasn't sure what ages to buy for – the mix of children can change weekly – so he got a little bit of everything.

Other agencies picking up supplies included the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club and Roundhouse, which takes in homeless youth and pregnant teens.

Sharlaine Davis, runaway and homeless youth supervisor at Roundhouse, stocked up on personal hygiene products and diapers.

"It's a great resource for our clients, especially with the economy the way it is," she said.

"All of these kinds of items are expenses in people's budgets," Jones added, "so now they can spend their money in other ways."