Special Olympics generate $3.5K with Fill-The-Truck Fundraiser

Goodwill Special Project Manager Ed Trope reported back on the Tuttle Special Olympics Fill-The-Truck fundraiser that was held in the Williams Grocery parking lot in Tuttle Saturday, April 24.

“We did end up filling seven 26-foot box trucks to the limit,” Trope said Thursday, April 29. “It started out slow that morning because of the weather. It was kind of overcast and it was cold and it was windy. So that kind of hurt the morning, but come noon, when the sun started the come out and everything and the temperatures rose, we started getting a lot of donations. We collected 35,000 pounds of donations. So, the Tuttle Special Olympics gets $3500.”

Goodwill Vice President of Marketing Missy Beets said of the event, “I think probably the best part of the whole situation and every time we do a donation drive, with the Special Olympics or any other partner organizations, is being able to have them there and be a part of it. When the community comes, and they can see them unload and get a chance to talk to everyone, it just makes it that much more special. Especially when it’s an annual event, that’s what brings people out year after year. That’s what we look forward to as well. So that’s wonderful for us. We work with a lot of people with disabilities. Matter of fact, we have an adult Day program that has a lot of use. We actually used to participate in the Special Olympics. So being able to see it kind of from both sides is really special to us because we know internally the people that were able to serve here but also seeing what the Tuttle school system is able to do through their system and how they are able to serve the kids and help them participate in Special Olympics is really neat.”

For anyone interested in chipping in towards the future of the Tuttle Special Olympics team by offloading some unwanted things, there are bins located at  302 E. Main Street in Tuttle, just east of Tuttle Family Eyecare, in the old Williams parking lot.

“There’s three donation bins there throughout the year,” Beets said Thursday. “We pick them up twice a week throughout the year, so anytime they want to drop donations off in those bins, the credit definitely goes back to Special Olympics. That’s more evident than ever last year because of being closed, for covid-19, and not doing this annual donation drive last year. That’s why we were still able to give all the money that we did last year to Special Olympics, because it all came from the donations in those bins.”

Ed added some things about the bins, and donating in the future.

“If the items are too big, such as refrigerators, sofas, things of that nature, all they have to do is call our 1-800 number and tell them there’s pick up in Tuttle or in the surrounding area for Special Olympics and they still get credit for the ten cents per pound,” Trope said. “This is a year-long program, and we already got it booked for next year. I already put it on the calendar so we’re looking forward to this again next year.”

Tuttle Special Olympics volunteers load donations boxes full of donated goods Saturday, April 24.