LAWRENCE | The Search Team Appreciation Drive just keeps getting bigger.

The effort to collect items for care packages, which will be sent to troops in Iraq as a "thank-you" for searching for Alex Jimenez, has been growing larger than drive organizer Jim Sereigo-Wareing had ever dreamed possible.

"This is going to be the biggest drive we've ever had," he said. "This one, I can see up front that it's going to be very big."

Because so many people have expressed an interest in helping, Sereigo-Wareing has already extended the drive one month, to July 14, and added several new drop-off locations.

He now estimates that he'll be able to collect about 10 tons of goods, with the potential to reach as many as 30,000 soldiers | far more than the 2,000 he had hoped to present with gifts when he first came up with the idea.

By comparison, a similar drive he conducted with his Methuen-based group, New England Caring for Our Military, last Christmas garnered three tons of goods for soldiers serving overseas. "This is going to be far exceeding that," he said.

Among the items currently being collected are books and games, shampoo and soap, and coffee and candy. A full list is posted online at www.necfom.org.

The packages are meant to be "thank-you" gifts for the soldiers who have been looking for Jimenez, a 25-year-old Army specialist and Lawrence resident, since he and two others went missing after an ambush May 12. Pvt. Byron Fouty of Michigan also remains missing, while the third soldier was found dead.

Despite being preoccupied with worry over Jimenez, friends of his family are eager to get involved in Sereigo-Wareing's drive, with some of them meeting with him to discuss strategy, he said. He's hoping they can help him get the city's Hispanic community more involved in the drive.

Sereigo-Wareing knew the drive was going to be big as soon as a story about it hit newsstands last week. Right away, his phone started ringing, and it hasn't stopped. He said he even heard from a friend in New Jersey who had seen it on the news.

Sereigo-Wareing says the interest in his drive is a reflection of how Jimenez's disappearance has effected the entire community. It is one of the few things people at home can do to help as everyone awaits word on the missing soldier's fate, he noted.

"It's all because the community just wants to be involved," he said. "It's hard to be on the sidelines when you can't do anything. This is something we can do."

And all kinds of people have come forward with offers to help. Among the dozens offering to help was Edward Lynch of Salem, N.H., who has much in common with Jimenez. He, too, is an Army specialist, and at 24 is about the same age as Jimenez. Though he only has a few weeks to spend with his pregnant wife before being shipped back to Iraq for a second tour of duty, Lynch is willing to give up some of his free time to help with the drive.

"I don't mind helping out. I don't mind at all," he said. "If I have to give up a day, I'll give up a day."

Earlier this week, Lynch spent almost two hours on the phone with Sereigo-Wareing brainstorming ways to raise money for the massive postage bill that will come at the end of the drive. He was the one who came up with the idea of soliciting donations from large companies in the area | letters to several corporations went out in the mail Monday, Sereigo-Wareing said.

One of the companies already on board is the management company that runs The Loop shopping center. A special event scheduled at The Loop July 14 will serve as the drive's grand finale.

Sereigo-Wareing has also joined with Market Basket. Starting this weekend, 14 of the chain's grocery stores will serve as drop-off locations. The sites will be set up to collect donations by the weekend, Sereigo-Wareing said.

One of the grocery chain's representatives warned Sereigo-Wareing that the drive will grow astronomically once they start collecting goods at the stores. But that comes as no surprise to him, considering the initial reaction he received from the public.

"The phone was non-stop," he said. "I went, 'Here we go, this is going to be much bigger than I anticipated.'"





How you can help

Donations: To defray the cost of postage and other expenses, mailed donations to: NECFOM, P.O. Box 2311, Methuen, MA 01844.

Drop-off locations: Sereigo-Wareing's home, 139 Howe St., Methuen; NESC Federal Credit Union, Pleasant Street, Methuen; The Loop management office, double doors in rear of shopping center near The Gap, Methuen; Veterans Northeast Outreach Center, Cedar Street, Haverhill; Senior Centers in Methuen and Lawrence; Veterans Service Centers in Methuen, Lawrence, Haverhill, North Andover, Andover and Lowell.

Market Basket drop-off centers: Haverhill and Pleasant Valley streets in Methuen; Essex Street, Lawrence; Winthrop Avenue (Route 114) , North Andover; North Main Street, Andover; Lowell Avenue, Water Street and Lincoln Avenue, all in Haverhill; South Broadway and Broadway in Salem, N.H.; and in Lowell on Fletcher, Bridge and Wood streets.