LAWRENCE, Mass. -- An effort to say thank you to the troops searching for Army Spc. Alex Jimenez of Lawrence has ballooned into a huge project as the drive to collect items for care packages has grown larger than anyone imagined.

NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported that Jim Wareing said he and all of the Merrimack Valley has been living with the painful story of the search for Jimenez.

"I think what they're really saying is that the community really does need to do something. To feel that they can actually help. They feel that loss that the family feels," he said.

That loss has resulted in an avalanche of giving for the soldiers who have searched day and night for their missing comrade. Things like food, playing cards, items for personal hygiene and much-treasured phone cards -- the necessities of life to say thanks to the troops risking their lives to seach for Jimenez.

"What these search teams have been doing is incredible. They've been going with lack of sleep, lack of food. They've been told they're going on a one-day mission to do a search and they actually are gone for four or five days," Wareing said.

Wareing dropped off dozens of collection boxes at a number of locations throughout the Merrimack Valley. Response at the Methuen Senior Activity Center has been generous.

"The seniors probably put themselves in the position that this could be their grandson, or their son. And it touches their heartstrings. So when people ask for donations, the seniors gladly step in," the center's Sue Foster said.

Corporate America has stepped in, too. Wal-Mart donated about a dozen bicycles to be raffled off to raise money to pay for postage.

Wareing said the drive will run though July 14.

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