Many people recall with fondness preparing for a new school year: a haircut, new clothes and shoes — and of course, school supplies. As schools geared up for fall Virginia Baptist churches were involved in a variety of ministries for children, educators and their communities.
Backpacks of Love
It was like Christmas had come early as new backpacks filled the classrooms at Kipps and Harding Avenue elementary schools in Blacksburg, Va., ready for 131 students returning to class Aug. 17. The backpacks stuffed with school supplies were donated by members of Blacksburg Baptist Church through its Backpacks of Love mission project.
Shilah Stiff of Blacksburg Baptist Church (left) unloads backpacks at elementary school.
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Charlotte Smith, minister of music and worship at Blacksburg Baptist Church and former Montgomery County school teacher, has spearheaded the project for the past three years. As an educator she recalls children dressed in worn clothing coming to class on their first day of school as other students returned with new shoes and notebooks.
Toting a well-worn backpack with few supplies was another way children from low-income families are set apart from the others, she says. And while at one time public schools had funds allocated for supplies, school budget cuts today find many teachers taking from their own pockets to fill the void, says Smith.
Backpacks of Love is a result of the church’s efforts to impact its community. Parents whose children qualify for the free lunch program apply to receive items. Blacksburg Baptist members receive a card with the gender and grade level of a student and the supplies required for their class. No names are given. Members also make monetary donations to cover school project fees.
In the first year 31 backpacks for Harding Avenue Elementary were filled. Last year a total of 81 backpacks were split between Harding Avenue and Kipps. This year 131 bags were packed. “In these times that we have now, people need every bit of help they can get,” Smith adds.
Back to School Boutique
Over 500 people came through the doors of Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary School in Herndon, Va., on Aug. 23 for Southview Community Church’s Back to School Boutique. While this is the 10th year for this ministry, it was the first to be held at the school.
A family leaves the Back to School Boutique with a new backpack and a bag of clothing.
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Diane Atkison, coordinator for the project, said the number of families coming to the church for the boutique was dwindling, and some students were brought from other areas. Atkison says the congregation began to pray and God began to paint a picture of what he wanted them to do — take the boutique to the school.
This year it was set up in the school’s gymnasium and 271 families received clothing, backpacks, school supplies and toiletries. Southview members worked alongside school staff to make the boutique a huge outreach to families.
As a result of relationships fostered at the boutique, Southview Community Church has scheduled a ground beautification day at Lewis Coates Elementary School on Oct. 1.
And another blessing of Christians working together on the project was teachers felt more comfortable talking about their faith with each other, says Atkinson. A Bible study has recently been started at the school before morning classes by teachers who welcome the opportunity for prayer and Bible study with each other.
Sacks of Love
Childhood hunger is a growing problem in the United States today. Many children of low-income families who qualify for free breakfast or lunch programs in public schools may go an entire weekend with little or no food.
Sacks of Love is a ministry of First Baptist Church, Staunton, Va. Nutritious, easy-to-prepare foods are packed in brown paper bags for students at Bessie Weller Elementary School to take home on Friday afternoon to ensure food to eat before returning on Monday.
“We are starting the third year of this ministry,” says Sharon Flory, leader of the First Baptist’s mission involvement team. “We began with 50 bags and now are packing between 80 and 90 bags per week.” Each sack contains two breakfast foods, two lunches and two snacks.
Approximately 50 people from First Baptist are involved in the purchasing of food, keeping inventory, packing bags each week and delivering them to the school, says Flory.
A student can be sponsored for $155 a year. Flory says the members of First Baptist Church and the community are very supportive. Principal Chris Bryant and the staff at Bessie Weller Elementary School are appreciative of this ministry which Bryant says not only meets the need for food but enables children to better able to focus on their school work.
15 truckloads of school supplies
The phone rang at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13, and Shawn Carter, pastor of Meadows of Dan (Va.) Baptist Church, learned the Meadows of Dan Elementary School was burning. The fire that started in an upstairs classroom would leave the school for about 120 students unusable except for the kitchen and a new gymnasium.
By 9 a.m. the church’s fellowship hall was ground central for the Patrick County School Board, says Carter. There were several parents meetings that day and over the next week. The school board and teachers set up temporary offices there. The kitchen was opened to provide food and members responded to any need that arose.
Meadows of Dan Baptist Church became the collection center for school supplies needed by teachers and students for school which had begun in August to resume.
Teachers went from school to school collecting items, says Carter, and as the word spread supplies from all parts of Virginia and North Carolina began arriving. Members tackled the task of sorting and packing the supplies, which in the end filled 15 trucks, reports Carter.
Participants say back to school ministries such as these require the cooperation of educators and churches.
Barbara Francis ([email protected]) is a staff writer for the Religious Herald.