HOME-FRONT BACKING RED CROSS COLLECTING GIFTS FOR SERVICE MEMBERS IN IRAQ.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Hand sanitizer bottles, chewing gum packs, crackers- and-peanut butter packets and paperback novels are piling up at the Antelope Valley Red Cross office, destined for troops overseas.

Antelope Valley residents are donating snacks, toiletries and gifts for the military personnel in Iraq under a weeklong local Red Cross collection drive.

``Some of them are people who have family members (in the military) and some do not. They're just caring people,'' Red Cross executive director Fran Stewart said of the donors. ``I think we are all looking for an outlet for our emotions.''

The American Red Cross is stepping in to collect items and ship them overseas because the threat of terrorism led the Pentagon to ban the general public from sending gifts to American military personnel they don't know.

Local Red Cross volunteers next week will package up the donations for shipment via FedEx to a military post office.

``This is really going to any serviceman but is a controlled way and a healthy way,'' Stewart said.

Among the donations are 1,000 pounds of coffee in individual packets promised by a Valencia specialty coffee-supply company, the Newhall Coffee Roasting Co.

Owners Mitch and Kyle McMullen had been trying to make arrangements through the USO to send coffee - a new variety called Patriots blend - to troops in Iraq, when workers read about the Antelope Valley Red Cross drive.

``We were trying to figure out for awhile how the heck to get it to the troops,'' Mitch McMullen said. ``My brother and I just want to help somehow.''

Items may be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Red Cross Antelope Valley Chapter, 2715 E. Ave. P.

Because of security restrictions, only certain items will be accepted, the Red Cross said. Small- or medium-size items are best, officials said. For more information, call [phone].

Acceptable are individually wrapped pieces of hard candy, such as Twizzlers, Tootsie Rolls, bubble gum, Skittles, lollipops and Life Savers; microwave popcorn packs; peanuts, pretzels or other snack foods; and packs of coffee, sugar, creamer, tea bags, hot chocolate and hot cider or of sweetened Kool-Aid, Gatorade and other sweetened drink mixes.

Also acceptable are hand wipes, small bottles of hand sanitizer or sunscreen of at least 15 SPF; wrap-around sunglasses; batteries; blank greeting cards; and toiletry items such as nonaerosol shaving creams, razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste and shower soap and gel. Other acceptable items include movie videos, DVDs, music CDs and cassettes and small pencil sharpeners.

People can also donate playing cards; small board games such as chess, checkers or cribbage; jigsaw puzzles; recent paperback books, especially mysteries, action, drama and science fiction; puzzle books; and comic books.

Monetary donations are also requested to help cover the costs of shipping, estimated at $1 per pound of goods, the Red Cross said.

Last weekend, Pentagon officials asked Americans not to send unsolicited mail, care packages or donations to service members, except to relatives and friends.

The Defense Department suspended its ``Any Servicemember'' mail programs last October out of concern that they provided a way to introduce hazardous substances into the mail system from unknown sources.

Defense officials said they recently became aware of organizations and individuals who got around the suspension of the ``Any Servicemember'' program by using the names and addresses of individual service members and unit addresses, some publicized on Internet Web sites.

To show support to troops overseas, the Pentagon said people can log on to Web sites to send greeting cards, virtual thank-you cards and calling- card donations to help troops stay in contact with loved ones. Those Web sites are:

www.defendamerica.mil/support-troops.html;

www.usocares.org/home.htm;

www.army.mil/operations/iraq/faq.html.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Donated goods headed for our troops in Iraq pile up in Fran Stewart's office at the A.V. chapter of the Red Cross.

(2 -- color) Antelope Valley residents are donating snacks, toiletries and other small gifts for use by military personnel in Iraq.

(3) Red Cross official Fran Stewart shows some of the items donated for our troops in Iraq.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer