UMass Transit, PVTA, and Local Stores Team Up for Tornado Relief
AMHERST, MA - The University of Massachusetts Transit Service, Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, and local retailers are teaming up this weekend to “fill the bus” to assist local communities recovering from the devastating tornado outbreak of June 1, 2011.
UMass Transit, which operates PVTA service in the Amherst/Five College area, will provide a bus at three local stores in Hadley on Saturday, June 11, 2011 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Buses will be parked at Wal-Mart, located in the Mountain Farms Shopping Center on Russell Street, across the street at Home Depot, and in the Campus Plaza Shopping Center at Stop & Shop about one mile east on Russell Street.
Shoppers are encouraged to donate what items they are able; Transit employees will have a list available of what has been requested by the town of Brimfield, located at the eastern edge of the 39 mile path of destruction levied by the storm. Donations will then be transported via PVTA bus to Brimfield.
“Many of the communities that were impacted by the recent storm are communities which PVTA serves and several of the people impacted are PVTA riders. PVTA wants to be of assistance in any way we can” said Mary MacInnes, PVTA Administrator.
“Our student employees attend the university from all over the state, we want to help those affected recover from this disaster in whatever way we can,” said Glenn Barrington, Operations Manager of UMass Transit.
The PVTA is the largest regional transit authority in Massachusetts with 174 buses, 144 vans, and 24 participating member communities. The PVTA has three garages from which they operate; Springfield, Northampton and UMass-Amherst. Additional information about the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority may be found on our about page or by calling 1-877-779-7882.
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