There's a big yellow bus parked in front of the Target store in Ypsilanti, and word on the street is that it's filling up fast.

"The bus is definitely getting stuffed," said Kari Dorr, business manager for the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office. "We've already gotten 65 to 75 backpacks, and there are several boxes of crayons, notebooks and markers."

Caryette Fenner, left, and Tawanna Ross sort through a pile of school supplies donated during the Stuff the Bus event held in the parking lot of Target near Carpenter Rd on Tuesday afternoon. Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

The 2nd Annual "Stuff the Bus" event is under way in Washtenaw County, building up a stockpile of school supplies for children in need in Ypsilanti Public Schools.

The weeklong event organized by county employees and United Way volunteers kicked off Monday at the county administration parking lot at 220 N. Main St. in downtown Ann Arbor. The full-size school bus has now moved on to the Target store at 3749 Carpenter Road, where the collection continues from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day through Friday.

All supplies collected will be donated to assist K-5 students from low-income families in Ypsilanti Public Schools.

"Of course we're thrilled," said Emma Jackson, spokeswoman for the school district. "There are many of our students who don't have the means to purchase their own school supplies, so anything that is donated to the district is certainly appreciated, and we're happy to be able to have our students fully equipped to start the school year prepared to learn."

John Fulton, the school district's human resources director, said with so many students in need in Ypsilanti, he was more than willing to arrange for a school bus to be stuffed.

"We have a lot of low-income families," he said. "Especially in these economic times - people are out of work - so even buying the basic supplies for school, that's a burden on the families, so this initiative is really going to help."

Dorr said a plethora of items - such as backpacks, pencils, notepads, binders, crayons and glue - are piling up already. Also, on the first day, $98 in cash was raised, which volunteers spent on more school supplies.

"We took the $98 cash into Target and bought supplies with the money, and then Target also donated a $30 gift card," Dorr said.

County employees say drop boxes will be located in county buildings for those unable to drop off their donations at the bus location in Ypsilanti. For those in the downtown Ann Arbor area, the county administration building on Main Street is a great place to bring donations, Dorr said.

Anyone with questions is encouraged to call Dorr in the county prosecutor's office at 734-222-6638.

Last year's inaugural Stuff the Bus event netted more than 10,000 school supply items for children in the Willow Run school district. County employees - directing their attention to another district in need this year - are they're hoping to collect even more supplies than last year.

Other "Stuff the Bus" drives are taking place throughout the area, including one for Lincoln Consolidated Schools, which also is in Ypsilanti.

To help provide a positive start to the new school year for low-income children in the Lincoln school district, a yellow school bus will be parked to accept donations from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the following times and locations:

• Aug. 25-28: Lincoln High School
• Aug. 28: Lincoln football game, 7 p.m.
• Aug. 31: Lincoln High School
• Sept. 1-2: Lincoln Middle School
• Sept. 3: Redner Bus Loop

Lincoln Consolidated Schools serves more than 4,700 students from southeast Washtenaw and southeast Wayne Counties. For more information, call Vicki Coury (734) 484-7000 ext. 7121.

Ryan Stanton covers government for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.