News
Employees of Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.
Special Report
Giving Back
School bus industry gives back to local communities in ways that may remain unknown to the general public WRITTEN BY ART GISSENDANER
O
n the night of June 17, 2015, in a well-publi- cized act of hatred, a young white man with
a gun strolled into a historic black church in Charleston, South Caroli- na, and opened fire during a prayer meeting. Within minutes, nine parishioners lay dead, including the senior pastor, state Sen. Clementa C. Pinkney. A 10th victim sur- vived. Te suspect was arrested and charged with nine counts of murder. While the shootings left the con-
gregation at Emanuel AME Church and much of the state and nation traumatized, Denis Gallagher mobi- lized his troops at Student Trans- portation of America’s Educational Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Student Transportation Inc. Te
foundation presented Emanuel AME with a check for $10,000. Gallagher said that employees play a big role in STI’s community presence throughout the U.S. and Canada because they are the first point of service. “When they are respected and treated well, they de- liver better service to our customers and in turn the entire community benefits,” he said. “We believe we are not just partners in our communities but we are part of the community. We make every effort to participate in local events and charities.” Gallagher was not grandstanding or being opportunistic. Te Founda- tion’s actions are indicative of is the engrained culture of STI as well as of student transportation providers, sup- pliers and school bus manufacturers.
30 School Transportation News • JUNE 2016
When we view these entities through one side of the prism, we see increased expenses. However, if we look through the prism from a different angle, the light shines on the other side of the industry. Tere is a philanthropic imperative that touches every corner of each community they serve. When elevated levels of lead were
discovered in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, First Student Inc. employees from 17 locations around the state teamed with local educators and citizens to transport busloads of bottled water to schools, homes, hospitals and businesses. Estimates are that in two-and-a-half month
Bright Horizons faculty and students engaged in the school’s vocational training program, which involves the assembly and packaging of Q’Straint products.
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