It's truly a community effort, ... Marshall is getting a lot of support from many sources. We're deeply grateful to everyone who has helped.

It's a fantastic event -- it's very different, ... It's wonderful to see the community come together and support this.

It's costing a lot more, and we're getting a lot less from the community. It is a strain on the budget.

Dean graduated from California two years ago and went into the Army, ... He's overseas now, and some of my other friends also have joined the military. My mother also got me interested by showing me pictures on the Internet of our soldiers and the conditions in which they are living in the Middle East. Their homes, in many cases, are in ditches and in the sand. I also learned that they really are in need of some of the basic day-to-day items most of us might take for granted, so I thought that would be the most useful thing to pursue.

Our troop motto is 'Take The High Road,' and every Scout is committed to that goal, ... That means being involved in the community as much as possible. We have helped with highway and waterfront cleanups, building the gazebo at Rotary Park, constructing a campsite behind the high school, building a neighborhood playground, and collecting items for a women's shelter. We feel you can never do too much to give back to your community.

Basically, it's a local drive to collect and distribute items to benefit the brave men and women serving in the United States military and defending our freedom and liberty abroad, ... These items will provide a little extra comfort for them and, more important, remind our troops that they are not forgotten by their friends and supporters back home.