WASHINGTON - It sounds like the perfect Christmas scam.

It's the White House calling, a woman says, the president of the United States wants to mention you in a speech to the country. He wants to commend you for your good deeds this holiday season.

By the way, can we have your Social Security number? And your date of birth too, please?

Jim Sereigo-Wareing of Methuen received that call Thursday. After he hung up, a concern gripped him for hours: "Identity theft," he said.

But the guy who recently sent more than two tons of gifts to American troops stationed in battle zones overseas was laughing. No scam, no need for concern.

President Bush's research team had just tapped Sereigo-Wareing to be a shining example of generosity in Bush's weekly national radio address.

"One man who's making a difference this holiday season is Jim Wareing," said Bush in his radio address to the nation that aired yesterday morning. "Jim is the founder of New England Caring for Our Military. This year, Jim helped organize a gift drive by thousands of students from Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Students from kindergarten to high school collected more than 20,000 gifts for our troops abroad.

"The gifts are being sent to troops stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Korea, Japan, and Africa" the president continued. "The care packages include books and puzzles, board games, phone cards, fresh socks, and T-shirts, and about 7,000 handmade holiday greeting cards and posters.

"Citizens like Jim Wareing represent the true strength of our country, and they make America proud," said the Bush, concluding his tribute the funding drives in his address, which was tailored for the Christmas holiday.

Sereigo-Wareing didn't know he would be mentioned in the president's radio address.

"It's kind of impressive that the White House would even call anyone," he said. "I think it's going to be great for the students who contributed to the troop drive."

This isn't Sereigo-Wareing's first experience with members of the administration's cabinet. He met former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last February in New York, who also commended him for helping the troops, though in private.

But he's quick to point to the real focus of his project: kids and soldiers.

"They need all the brightness they can get. It's a pretty rough time over there," Sereigo-Wareing said of the troops. "When you're getting shot at and things like that 24 hours a day, a little gift will go a long way."

More than 22,000 gifts reached soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, Kosovo, Korea and Africa last week. The gifts included cards, poker chips, stuffed animals, candy, horseshoe sets, mind games, colognes, perfumes and much more.

Students from schools in Dracut and elsewhere wrapped about half the presents. Sereigo-Wareing and some friends wrapped the other half in his basement, a process that took five days.

More than 7,000 holiday cards, handmade by thousands of area students, accompanied the haul.

But by Sereigo-Wareing's account, the president, troops and nation haven't seen anything yet.

"I'm planning another one. I don't want to give a lot of details, but it will make this one look small," he said of his next gift drive, scheduled for summer.

"I don't want it to end just at the holidays."