Iowa National Guard troops in Iraq may soon be surprised with a delivery of 1,000 pounds of care packages.

Military Mail Call: Care Packages from Campus is a student-run collection drive created by members of Public Service and Administration in Agriculture. The group plans on collecting items through Friday to send abroad.

The care packages will be sent to the 224th Engineering Battalion based out of Fairfield, and the 2168th Transportation Company from Sheldon, which are stationed in Iraq. The units were chosen because of connections they have to Iowa State.

Gabe Whitaker, PSA member, was a member of the 224th for nearly four years. He said he was transferred to another unit because of officer training just before the unit heard it was being deployed.

“I’m really interested in [the drive], because they are sending a lot of stuff to my old unit,” he said. “In some ways, I got kind of lucky, but in other ways, I wish I was with them.”

Rachel Hecht, Agriculture Education Club member, said she is helping with the drive because both she and her boyfriend are in the National Guard. Her brother is in the Army Reserves.

“We wanted to do something to support our friends and family,” she said. “Lots of people have connections in some way to the units.”

Becky Jacobs, PSA president and chairwoman for the drive, said the drive began when PSA was looking for a community service project at the beginning of the year.

“Gabe’s old unit was deployed, and we realized that if we were that close to losing one of the members of our organization, others probably feel the same in their connections,” she said.

She said several other groups have gotten involved in the drive, including ISU Collegiate FFA, the Agriculture Education Club, Collegiate 4-H and the Agricultural Education 315: Personal and Professional Leadership in Agriculture class.

Alicia Clancy, public relations coordinator for the drive, said the group plans to collect donations in ISU dining centers, which makes it easy for students to use their extra dining dollars by donating items from the C-Store.

Monetary donations are accepted to help cover the cost of postage. Jacobs said it costs $7.70 to ship boxes that hold 10 pounds to 20 pounds. She said they have already received enough donations to send 123 boxes.

“Even if we fall short of our goal, 1,000 pounds would really make someone smile,” Jacobs said.