For the fourth year in a row, Operation Cupid in Scarborough will send Valentine’s Day gifts from home to Maine troops fighting in Iraq.

The Scarborough Middle School Builders Club, Scarborough High School Key Club, K-Kids (a group of third-fifth-graders from Wentworth School) and the Kiwanis Club of Scarborough, are working together to collect donations that will be used to send Valentine’s Day gifts to lift the spirits of the Maine soldiers.

In addition to homemade cards, snacks and other gifts, phone calling cards will be included in gift bags, so that soldiers can call their families and loved ones on Valentine’s Day.

There are fewer troops from Maine deployed in Iraq this year than last, but the goal of the project is the same – to keep the troops who remain abroad feeling as close to home as possible. Last year, more than 400 gift bags were distributed to troops and the project raised “a few thousand dollars,” according to Jim Damicis, Kiwanis adviser for the Key Club. This year, an estimated 150 gift bags are expected to go out to troops.

“We don’t have a set goal or amount of money that needs to be raised. It’s all about the community support. It’s amazing how many people step up and give $10, $50, $100, or whatever they wish to give,” Damicis said.

If there are funds leftover, they will be distributed to support other troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another program that Operation Cupid has given leftover funds to in the past is Operation Military Kids, a Kennebec County organization that provides backpacks filled with supplies like pens, paper and phone cards, enabling children to keep in touch with their parents, who are serving abroad.

Key Club students will be in charge of buying snacks and other gifts to go in the bags, while Kiwanis members will be in charge of buying the phone cards. K-Kids will be decorating the cards that will go out to troops and creating other artistic decorations to brighten the gift bags.

Tom Griffin, who started Operation Cupid with his sixth-grade class four years ago in an effort to encourage community service, will once again work with students and volunteers to organize donations. On Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Scarborough Middle School cafeteria, Griffin and students from all of the clubs involved, along with other volunteers, will stuff the gift bags and prepare them for shipping.

“This event is special because it shows the generosity of our town and the great community support we have for our troops. It lets our Maine soldiers know that they are always on our minds,” Griffin said. “Everyone is welcome to attend the event on the 29th, and if anyone wants to send in their own cards or notes to troops, please feel free to bring them to the middle school or any of the other donation drop-off locations.”

Scarborough Downs is paying for the shipping costs associated with sending packages to troops.

A flyer went out last week to locations throughout Scarborough, designed with a logo created for Operation Cupid by seventh-grader Emily Tolman. Donations and cards will be accepted at various locations, including the Scarborough Town Hall, Library, Post Office, and the Freaky Bean coffee shop on Route 1.

Those interested in helping out either with donations or time can contact Griffin at 730-4822, or Damicis at 831-1061. Checks should be made out to Scarborough Middle School and can be mailed to: Operation Cupid, Scarborough Middle School, 44 Gorham Road, Scarborough ME 04074.