Destiny Boyd, 8, looks for just the right backpack and other school supplies given by community groups and other donors. Destiny and other families picked up the supplies Tuesday at the Ballard Center, 708 Elm St.

Parents and children came to the Ballard Center on Tuesday to pick up school supplies donated to help families through tough economic times.

With smiles on their faces, Morgan and Aaron Hemelrick strapped on new backpacks Tuesday morning.

The brother and sister will return to their fifth- and sixth-grade classes at Prairie Park School Wednesday morning with new school supplies, thanks to the generosity of Lawrence community groups and donors.

“It’s very helpful because with prices as high as they are, this stuff gets expensive,” said Lindsey Sleeper, who helped the children and her other daughter, Alexia Clevenger, 4, pick up three bags of supplies Tuesday morning at the Ballard Center, 708 Elm St.

This was their first year to benefit from Ballard’s donations. Sleeper said in the past the family had relied on the school or others to help when their children’s supplies ran out.

Families who qualified lined up Tuesday to collect pencils, paper, notebooks and even new shoes. Ballard Community Services coordinated the event and took donations from businesses and groups.

“The supplies and the manpower have been provided by volunteers, and that’s what I think is so important about all of this,” said Paul Hunt, Ballard’s director of human service programs.

The economic times played a role in more children needing free supplies compared with last year, Hunt said. In Douglas County, 195 students had their parents sign them up.

“With the increase of prices for most things, it’s making it harder for families who may have had a little bit of extra money laying around that they could have used before,” Hunt said. “They’re realizing they just don’t have that now,”

Also part of the collection this year were 185 new pairs of shoes tailored to the right size for the youngsters. The noon meeting of the Lawrence Rotary Club organized the project.

They were able to get donations from members and grants from Wal-Mart and Hallmark Cards to purchase the shoes.

Jane Bateman, chairwoman of the Rotary Club’s service committee, helped hand out the shoes to the children.

“They were excited. We were able to line them up with exactly what they needed help with,” Bateman said.