NEW JERSEY — Select Doherty-owned Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurants in New Jersey and New York are once again collecting school supplies to help local students prepare for the upcoming school year through the company’s annual Stuff the Bus campaign.
The community drive encourages guests to donate new school supplies or make monetary contributions at participating restaurants. Bright yellow school buses will serve as collection points in many restaurant parking lots, with all donations benefiting nearby schools and community organizations.
“Supporting the communities we serve is at the heart of everything we do,” said Timothy Doherty, president of Doherty Enterprises. “Each year, our Stuff the Bus campaign brings neighbors, guests and local organizations together at their local Applebee’s to help students start the school year with the supplies they need. Seeing our communities rally around this effort and make a meaningful difference for local families is incredible.”
In addition to collecting classroom supplies, select restaurants will host fundraising events, including flapjack breakfasts and bake sales, to support the campaign.
Participating New Jersey locations include Applebee’s restaurants in Linden, North Bergen, Howell, Hackettstown, Mount Olive and Bridgewater.
The Hackettstown restaurant will accept donations through Aug. 1 using an indoor bus display, with supplies benefiting Oxford Central School. The Mount Olive location will collect donations through Aug. 19, with a school bus on-site Aug. 15-16. Donations there will support the Byram Township School District. The Bridgewater restaurant will accept donations through Aug. 28, with collected supplies benefiting Adamsville Elementary School.
Other participating locations include Lindenhurst, New York, Staten Island and New Dorp.
According to Doherty Enterprises, all donated supplies will be loaded onto the collection buses and delivered directly to local schools or community organizations to help students begin the school year with the materials they need for the classroom.
