LAKE STEVENS -- There were movies and ramen noodles, foot powder and feminine hygiene products.

Thirteen North Lake Middle School students helped Lake Stevens Lions Club members and a Marine gunnery sergeant pack donated items into two 30-pound boxes Friday for shipment to Iraq.

The boxes were stuffed with individual care packages in plastic bags for 100Marines who arrived in Iraq last week. The boxes will be mailed today to two platoons that are part of a strike force that has spent the past three weeks traveling to Iraq.

"It was a lot different this time around," said Dick Cowden, area coordinator for Operation Interdependence™, a program that gathers donations for troops overseas to let them know they're not forgotten and their military service is appreciated by the folks back home.

Each month, soldiers receive a plastic bag filled with socks, sample-size toiletries, candy, books and other goodies -- things they can't get easily so far from home.

"Usually we get toothpaste, toothbrushes, that kind of thing. A lot of kids brought in movies, ramen noodles, a lot of books, a lot of foot powder and foot pads, a lot of crossword puzzles. There were several boxes of feminine hygiene items for the women soldiers," Cowden said.

Lake Stevens students and residents will get to fill two more boxes next month for delivery to the soldiers in time for Christmas. Items can be dropped off at North Lake Middle School or Lake Stevens Middle School by Dec. 12.

Badly needed items include hygiene products including creams, suntan lotion, foot and body powder, he said. They have to be in small containers; sample sizes of 6 to 8 ounces fit in the individual bags.

"And anyone who is tired of their DVD movies -- the Marines love them," Cowden said.

To donate, drop off items at either middle school. Cash donations can be directed to Dan Bushnell at North Lake Middle School or John Gebert at Lake Stevens Middle School to help pay for the shipping, Cowden said.

Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.

North Lake Middle School eighth-graders Isaac Molstre (left) and Alex Pellegrini pack a box of donations Friday that will be sent to U.S. Marines stationed in Iraq.

Photo by Meggan Booker / The Herald