Patriots Will Help Operation Shoebox on Saturday

The eighth annual Somerset Patriots packing begins at 11 a.m. on the concourse with an orientation and opening ceremony. Volunteers can enter the ballpark through the main gate. 

The Patriots will play the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs at 7:05 p.m. later on Saturday. 

All volunteers will be given a voucher good for a free ticket to a future Patriots game.

Those who attend the packing are encouraged to bring donations of food and toiletry items. Personal or travel size items are preferred. Suggested personal care items include toothbrushes and toothpaste; shampoo; moist wipes; foot powder; razors and ear swabs. Needed food items include beef jerky, cans of tuna; cans of fruit; small bags of snacks; one-ounce boxes of cereal; microwave popcorn; trail mix and dry soup. 

Operation Shoebox will also feature a selection of shirts, hats and other items to raise funds used to ship the care packages overseas.

Founded in February 2005, Operation Shoebox NJ is a grassroots organization dedicated to collecting donated supplies and shipping care packages to U.S. troops based in Iraq, Afghanistan and other Middle East countries. Several times each year, volunteers gather to sort donated supplies and pack them in boxes that are shipped overseas.

Operation Shoebox NJ has shipped more than 62,000 packages to military personnel.

For more information, visit http://www.opshoeboxnj.org