Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Charlotte Smith, center, reacts after her volunteers delivered "Backpacks of Love" to Kipps Elementary School in Blacksburg Monday.

Backpacks are piled at Kipps Elementary School in Blacksburg on Monday. They will go to one of the 131 students in need at Kipps and Harding elementary schools this year.

The bags and supplies go to children who qualify for the free lunch program at school; according to Montgomery County School District numbers, nearly 40 percent of students are eligible.

The Roanoke Times | File 2010

Montgomery County Public Schools Facilities and Planning Department Director Dan Berenato, left, conducted a sing-along with students and staff during a ground-breaking ceremony for the new Price's Fork Elementary School building in April 2010. Students will be moving to the new school in October or November this year, officials have said.

BLACKSBURG -- Backpacks dangled from arms, elbows and backs last week, as the sun beat down on Blacksburg Baptist Church members.

But that didn't stop them from returning to their trucks and vans parked outside Kipps Elementary School for loads two and three of the bags, stuffed to the brim with school supplies.

Spiderman, Captain America and Disney princesses decorated many of the 100-plus backpacks sprawled across tables, filling the classroom and the hearts of those who witnessed the generosity.

"It's like Christmas in August," said Chris Widrig, Kipps Elementary School principal, in awe of the room's quick transformation.

On Wednesday, those bags will transfer to the backs of 131 students as they enter their first day of school.

The items were donated by Blacksburg Baptist Church members through the "Backpacks of Love" mission project. The church, for the third year in a row, has adopted Kipps and Harding elementary schools by providing new backpacks and needed supplies for students there who qualify for the free lunch program. Parents must apply for their children to receive the items. According to Brenda Bowdel, district spokeswoman for Montgomery County schools, the division free/reduced lunch count for the school district is 38.76 percent as of June.

The project was a result of the church's efforts to continue to make a local impact, said Charlotte Smith, Blacksburg Baptist's minister of music and worship. Church members involved in the project take a card filled out with the gender and grade level of the student and the supplies needed. The students' names remain anonymous. Members can also choose to make monetary donations to cover school project fees and other costs. A former Montgomery County school teacher, Smith said she recognizes that "the need is there."

"In these times that we have now, people need every bit of help they can get," she said.

In the project's first year, the church served just Harding Avenue, filling 31 backpacks. Last year, 37 were packed for Harding and 44 for Kipps.

One hundred and thirty-one bags were packed this year, to be split between Kipps and Harding, an increase Smith said is a sign of both a struggling economy and of the project's awareness.

Smith said she remembers the children dressed in worn clothing on their first day of school as others sported brand new tennis shoes and notebooks. And their empty bookbags were "just one more way they might be set apart," she said. She also remembers the effect cuts to school budgets could have on supplies in the classroom.

According to Walt Shannon, the assistant superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, the school board budget includes $730,171 to support classroom needs for instructional supplies, equipment, copier paper and also for services such as printing information and handbooks. The money is allocated to 21 schools based on their projected enrollment, school size and instructional program. The budget is "not sufficient to provide all the materials that individual students need both at school and at home" such as personal backpacks, pencils, pens and notebooks," according to Shannon.

To keep the stash of supplies full in their classrooms, teachers often take it upon themselves to fill the void, Smith said.

"You know how much they do out of their own pockets," Smith said.

Widrig said at Kipps -- where enrollment in "Backpacks of Love" doubled this year -- extra supplies are stored in case of a shortage. This past school year, "we used all the supplies and then some," he said.

Blacksburg Baptist isn't the only organization providing supplies for area students.

The United Way of Montgomery, Radford and Floyd held a "Stuff the Bus" campaign in July, also a school supply drive.

Grace-A-Child-USA, a new Christian-based preschool in Christiansburg, will provide 15 Christiansburg elementary students with backpacks, clothes and shoes through The Brittany Project, the preschool's core philanthropy. The students were selected through area organizations and churches. A carnival was held at the preschool Saturday, with proceeds going toward the supply costs.

Smith said her dream is to one day "have every school sponsored by a local church."

"I would love the opportunity to talk with others about next year," she said.