Several enthusiastic individuals have joined in the Jefferson Arts Committee’s town-wide effort to organize a collection of items needed by United States Armed Forces units based in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a result, a subsequent meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 at 7:30 PM in the Jefferson Township Health Center located at 57 Minnisink Road (off Berkshire Valley Road) in Lake Hopatcong. Once again, all interested individuals or representatives of township organizations are invited to attend to assist in this effort.

The Committee has just released a listing of the items that are being sought for collection:

Baby Wipes (Individual Packs)	Bar Soap	Batteries (All Sizes)
Beanie Babies	Blistex (Squeeze Tube)	Cameras (disposable)
Dental Floss/Picks	Deodorant	Disposable Razors
DVD’s/CD’s (New/Used)	Eye Drops/Visine	Games (Hand Held)
Gold Bond Powder	Hand Sanitizer	Hand Warmers
Insect Repellent	Kleenex (Individual Packs)	Laundry Soap (Single Load Packs)
Liquid Soap	Lotion (Tubes Only)	Mouthwash
Magic Markers	Magazines (Used)	Playing Cards
Paperback Books (Used)	Phone Cards (ATT Internat’l)	Shampoo (Travel Size)
Puzzles	Q-Tips (Travel Packs)	Socks (Thin/White)
Shaving Cream (Travel Size)	Shower Shoes (Closed Toe)	Tee Shirts (Local/Sports)
Sunblock	Sunglasses	Toothpaste (Travel Size)
Tampax, Etc.	Toothbrush	Ziploc Bags (Quart Size)
Vaseline (Squeeze Tube)	Writing Paper/Envelopes/Pens

**School Supplies (Notebooks, Pencils, Paper, Etc.) to be distributed by Military Personnel to schoolchildren in Iraq and Afghanistan

In addition, the following non-perishable edible items are also being sought:

*Beef Jerky (Small Packs)	Breath Fresheners
Cereal (Individual Packs)	Cheese (Squeeze Containers)
Chicken/Turkey (7 oz. Easy Open)	*Chips/Pringles/Doritos (Snack Packs)
*Cookies - Girl Scout/Home Baked	Crackers (Snack Packs)
Crystal Light (Single Serve)	Dips (9 oz Cans)
Fruit (Dried/Snack Pack)	*Gum
Hard Candy	Life Savers, Etc.
Nuts (Snack Packs)	*Popcorn (Snack Pack)
Power Bars	Salmon/Tuna (7 oz. Easy Open)
Soups (Plastic Containers)	*Starbucks Coffee Beans
Sunflower Seeds	*Trail Mix (Snack Packs)

*Favorite Items

All items can be dropped off at the following locations: the Jefferson Township Municipal Building (1033 Weldon Road), Adam’s Bagels (Route 15 South, Lake Hopatcong), the Jefferson Township Public Library (1031 Weldon Road), the Milton Post Office Sub-Station (Berkshire Valley Road by the old A&P), Washington Mutual Bank (A&P Shopping Center, Milton/Oak Ridge), Jefferson Township Health Center (57 Minnisink Road, Lake Hopatcong), Gibraltar Savings Bank (Berkshire Valley Road, Milton/Oak Ridge), Lake Hopatcong Post Office (Route 15 South), Skinny’s Grill & Cafe (Berkshire Valley Road by the old A&P), the Jefferson Township Recreation Department at Camp Jefferson (81 Weldon Road), and the Jefferson Dairy (Route 15 South, Lake Hopatcong).

A one-day collection event is scheduled for Saturday, September 30th from 10 AM to 4 PM at the Lakeside Pathmark and the Milton A&P. A second collection has been arranged to take place at the 7 PM Friday night, October 20th Jefferson Township High School vs. Lenape Valley High School football game at the Joseph Ennis Field on Weldon Road. In addition, monetary donations are being accepted and will be used to purchase needed items and cover the cost of shipping the packages overseas. Checks can be made payable to the Jefferson Arts Committee and mailed to Operation Iraq and Enduring Freedom, c/o Janet Breckenridge, PO Box 2604, Oak Ridge, NJ 07438. The JAC’s intent is to involve the entire community in this project including Jefferson Township students. The names of any Jefferson Township residents or the relatives of any Jefferson Township residents now serving in Iraq or Afghanistan are being compiled by the committee in order to arrange for a package to be sent to him/her. To register that person, for more information on this project, and/or directions to the Health Center contact Donna at 973-697-5520 or Betty at 973-697-8283.

Let us not forgot those who are fighting for democracy in the world as well as our freedom!