Operation Appreciation organizers are gearing up for "Phase 9" of the local project that has sent more than 1,300 care packages during the past four years to troops deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East.

Chairwoman Margie Litterski says even more troops have been helped when taking into account what chaplains and soldiers share.

The project is entering its fifth year and she said, "East Texans have shown no sign of tiring in their support for Operation Appreciation."

Organizers are asking donors to buy and deliver goods throughout May. The deadline for receiving donated goods is 10 a.m. June 2. Donations may be delivered Tuesday through Friday at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 909 Reel Road, Longview.

Items needed include: toothpaste, all occasion cards, powdered Gatorade drink mix, dental floss, pens, notebooks, trail mix, beef jerky, toothbrushes, fly traps, individual packs of cookies, Chapstick, eye drops, individual packs of crackers, individual bags of peanuts, dust masks, electrical tape, razors, playing cards, rubber bands, six-packs of crew socks, international phone cards, gum and hard candy.

Also needed for larger chaplain boxes: Frisbees, comedy DVDs, soccer balls, hand-held games, games, paddle balls and comic books. Also needed are some baseball gloves and a few bats.

The project is still accepting names and addresses of deployed troops for the July 4 shipment.

For information or to get someone on the list, call Litterski at (903) 295-9609.