Jason A. Frizzelle/The Daily Reflector (ENLARGE)

Kathy Winstead, left, her son, David Winstead, center, and Karolyn Leavelle pick up a box of backpacks to load them into Leavelle's car at the Salvation Army in Greenville.

WANT TO HELP? The Salvation Army is hoping to give away more book bags, but it is relying on donations from the community to make that happen. Call 756-3388 to donate or volunteer.

Officials with The Salvation Army in Greenville spent Wednesday afternoon handing out book bags and school supplies with hopes of giving children a head start in the upcoming school year.

More than 200 book bags, filled with school necessities, were distributed at the Dickinson Avenue facility, and officials are hoping to have more ready for distribution in the coming days.

The giveaway was made possible by a $500 purchase by The Salvation Army and the help of nearly 25 volunteers who spent Tuesday evening packing the bags.

"We wanted to kind of provide a starter platform for the school year for kids whose parents might not have the money to purchase all of those materials right now," Salvation Army Capt. Jim Rickard said. "We think this will kind of get the kids jump-started for the school year."

The bags were purchased from Wal-Mart, which also donated some materials, Rickard said. Pencils, erasers, paper, notebooks, hand sanitizer and a few other things Rickard believes students will find useful were distributed with the bags.

"I think we gave them a good variety of things with the bags," Rickard said. "It should be very helpful."