ISU students serving in Iraq will receive a pleasant surprise within a month — donations from fellow students.

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars hosted a donation drive for 42 students serving in the armed forces. The drive was extended an additional week, but ends Friday.

“Initially, we didn’t have a very large response,” said Lauren Damme, co-vice president of community service for NSCS.

Donations increased after more publicity, said Kristen Clark, NSCS president.

“At the end of the week, we had a lot more come in,” she said.

The donations will be sorted to send to various locations, said Pete Englin, dean of students and NSCS adviser.

“We have students in multiple units,” he said. “We’ll try to distribute it equitably.”

The idea to donate to the soldiers originated from a brainstorming session this fall; a member helped with a similar event at their church at their hometown, Damme said.

“We thought it would be nice for us to do this,” said Dan Feimster, co-vice president of community service.

“It’s a good way to support our ISU students who are stationed in Iraq.”

Facilities planning and management operated a similar drive and NSCS used the same wish list of items, Englin said.

If the war in Iraq continues, the NSCS is considering holding more donation drives, members said.

“We’ll probably not hold any more this semester, but as long as it’s necessary, it will become an annual thing,” Clark said.

A wide variety of items have been donated over the past few weeks, anything from toothbrushes and canned food to compact discs and disposable cameras, among other things.

The ideas for these supplies were compiled from a wish list written by the soldiers in Iraq, NSCS members said.

Clark said any donation that “can make their lives easier” is accepted.

“We’ve had a little bit of money, too, but mostly items,” Clark said.

The red collection baskets are located all over the campus. The group members are each in charge of collecting items, Clark said.

“Every day, we have part of the executive committee check each basket so we can empty them each night,” Feimster said. “I think it’s been a successful thing.”

The exact amount of donations will not be known until the end of the drive, Englin said. Organizers of the event are optimistic.

“I think [we’ve gotten] probably more than we expected,” Clark said. “I’ve had shopping bags full of stuff.”