An army of volunteers spent Saturday at the Halesite VFW Hall working to lift the spirits of Long Island soldiers serving in Iraq.

The hardships of war for soldiers and their families motivated the Huntington Young Democrats to organize the care package drive, called the Hometown Heroes Package Project. For Susannah Mrazek of Huntington, the mission is personal. Her brother is stationed just outside of Baghdad and she is sending him his favorite things.

All of the items, including the boxes and postage, were donated by the community. The soldiers will get the packages in about a month. The group plans to make the Hometown Heroes Package Project an ongoing effort.