Tonya, a life-long resident of Medford, Oregon and the sister of a Marine currently serving with an Infantry Unit in Afghanistan, has started "The Medford Oregon Troop Support Project" in an effort to raise awareness for troop support as well as to get much-needed items shipped overseas to Marines serving in Iraq, Aghanistan, and Africa in support of the Global War on Terror.

Tonya will hold a drive to collect items to send to the troops on July 26, 2008. The drive and fundraisers are being held in conjunction with the MarineParents.com, Inc. Care Package Project™ which ships over 1100 care packages six times a year to Marines stationed in combat zones. Shipping costs for each care package date run over $10,000.

Tonya has garnered the support of several radio stations for publicizing the event and collecting donations for shipping funds and sponsoring care packages prior to actual care package drive.

Additionally, the local WalMart stores are on board as drop-off locations on July 26 for items you would like to donate for the troops serving overseas. The list of items to donate for the troops include:

LCpl Matthew, USMC "My brother Matthew is my inspiration!" Tonya tells us. Both Tonya and Matthew grew up in Medford, Oregon.

Personal Care Items

• Baby wipes for personal hygiene (alcohol-free)
• Toothpaste (in hard-side tubes rather than traditional tubes)
• Toothbrushes
• Nail clippers
• Shampoo & Conditioner
• Deodorant
• Liquid Body Wash soap (no pump-style dispensers)
• Liquid anti-bacterial soap (no pump-style dispensers)
• Lotion (no pump-style dispensers)
• Disposable razors
• Kleenex (travel-size packets)
• Disposable hand sanitizing wipes
• Sunblock
• Q-tips
• Throat Lozenges
• Mints
• Eye Drops (to relieve dry eye, not redness)
• Blistex, Chapstick, Carmex (in stick-tubes rather than tubs)
• Aspirin, Motrin, Tylenol, Pain Relievers (small containers)
• Saline spray/drops for sensitive nasal passages
• Odor eaters for boots
• Lotrimin AF or Tinactin (tubes of ointment or cream, bottle of drops; please do not send the aerosol spray type)
• Medicated Foot Powder
• Medicated Foot Swabs

Matthew in Afghanistan A rare photo of Tonya's brother, Matthew, in Afghanistan. Matthew is with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, or 2/7, and infantry unit out of Twentynine Palms, California.

Supply Items

• Boot liners/insoles
• 72' Bootlaces (brown or tan preferred)
• Eyeglass wipes
• Sandwich size, Quart-size and 1-gallon Ziploc plastic bags
• Disposable cameras
• Deck of cards
• Cigarettes or Chew

Clothing Items (Try Military Surplus Stores)

• Cotton socks (Olive green, Black or white)
• Military-green or Olive Boot Socks
• T-Shirts (Olive green, short sleeve)
• Undershirts (White, short sleeve)

Communication Items

• Envelopes, paper, pens
• Small pads of paper Notebooks (a size they can keep in a pocket and keep dry)
• Drawing pads (small) Small, blank journals

Matthew and sister, Tonya

Food & Snack Items

• Gum
• Lifesavers
• Mints (blister pack gum is best because of the intense heat)
• Assorted hard candies
• Dried fruit
• Nuts
• Sunflower seeds
• Peanuts
• Trail mix
• Power bars
• Protein bars
• Nutritional bars
• Beef jerky
• Single-serving bags of crackers, chips, snack mixes, pop tarts, cereal bars, granola bars
• Ramen Noodles
• Cup-O-Noodles serving cups
• Ravioli and other canned ready-to-eat meals (canned or styrofoam single serving are best)
• Tuna lunch kits (includes foil pouch of tuna, crackers, and condiments in each single-serving kit)
• Canned sardines, or smoked oysters
• canned nacho cheese dip
• Taco Bell® Sauce Packets
• Seasoning salts
• Flavoring salts

Beverage Items

• Ground Coffee
• Tea mix
• Hot cocoa mix
• Lemonade mix
• Koolade mix
• Gatorade mix (powdered only)
• Crystal Light (or other brand) 'On The Go' flavor packets
• Sugar and creamer packets for coffee