More than 40 volunteers participated Jan. 29 at the Scarborough Middle School in packaging 396 Valentine’s Day gifts for these Maine troop units stationed overseas:

• Mountain Infantry Division, B Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry (Mountain) stationed in Iraq (170 members)

• SECFOR II 1st Battalion, 152nd Field, Artillery Regiment, stationed on Iraq (90 members)

• 240th Engineer Group stationed in Afghanistan (82 members)

• 399th Combat Support Hospital stationed in Iraq (30 members in Tikrit and 24 members in Mosul)

While students gathered in groups to design the gifts bags with ornaments, adults prepared the assembly table and the shipping boxes. Students then proceeded, in single file, to the assembly table to fill bag contents while adults packed and sealed them in shipping boxes. Each gift bag contained a broad assortment of candy and snack items, Valentine’s cards written by Scarborough K-12 students and the community, DVD movies and phone calling cards.

Tom Griffin, Operation Cupid director and Jim Damicis, Kiwanis Club of Scarborough, congratulated students and thanked sponsors for the record-breaking fundraising effort: “The success of this years’ Operation Cupid was only possible due to the generosity of companies and individuals in both Scarborough and the Greater Portland area. We are particularly grateful to Wal-Mart for its contribution of the candy and snacks, Earle W. Noyes & Sons/ United Van Lines for the shipping boxes and Scarborough Downs’ for paying the shipping costs.”