Robert Hogan Bus Lines Give Back

Jeff Green | Jan 22, 2025

Historically, Robert Hogan Bus Lines and the Country radio station partnered to “Stuff a Bus” with non-perishable food items for the Kingston Food Bank every holiday season. This year, however, when Bobbi Jo Buchanan, a driver with Robert Hogan Bus Line, learned that there had been a management shift and the person who typically organized the Stuff a Bus event was no longer at the station, she took the food drive into her own hands and added a local twist.

Buchanan organized another Stuff a Bus event at the Metro on Gardiner’s Road in Kingston. With the help of other drivers, students, and the public, she was able to gather 588 pounds of food to donate to the Kingston Food Drive. Feeling the momentum from this event's success, Buchanan felt motivated to see what else she could do with the power of her community.

“I thought to myself ‘well there is still a need and the holiday season is coming up why not keep this going’,” she said. “We also decided we wanted to serve the community that we service so we chose Battersea United Church and Sydenham Food Bank and it ended up working out great because they do not get the advertising and help that the Kingston Food Bank receives.”

So, with the collaboration and efforts of the other drivers at Robert Bus Line, the drivers decided to organize a competition between the buses. The rules were simple: the bus that brought in the most non-perishable food items between the days November 20th and December 20th, would win a prize for the students on the bus.

“The support was immediate and overwhelming,” said Buchanan. “Drivers were bringing in so many food items for the drive the office looked like a grocery store.”

“Students and their families were so generous all of us at Robert Hogan Bus Line are so proud.”

The winning bus was able to donate 600 non-perishable food items to the food bank and collectively the buses were able to donate almost $10,000 in food items.

“This was our first time doing something like this but it certainly won’t be our last,” said Buchanan. “It felt so good to do something positive in a time of such negativity, and to show the students the spirit of giving during the holiday season and to see how excited they were is priceless.”