SPRINGBORO — — Next time you think the weather is too warm, the Miami Valley No. 3 Blue Star Mothers will set you straight.

They are collecting donations for U.S. troops, to help them do things like cope with temperatures reaching 120 degrees and humidity at a steady 20 percent in Iraq.

One of the most-demanded items is one that help rehydrate, such as Crystal Light To-Go, Gatorade and Kool-Aid pouches.

"When my son was out there, he drank water like it was going out of style," said chapter President Beverly Peyton. "So if they have to drink so many quarts of water a day to avoid dehydration and heat stroke, flavoring the water makes it more doable."

Other food requests include pocket-sized prepackaged snacks and food, such as power bars, tubes of peanuts or trail mix, small packs of crackers or cookies and Slim Jims.

Peyton said Blue Star Mothers members respond to special requests. Most recently an officer requested breakfast food, baby wipes and hand sanitizers.

Also, there are requests for care packages that are gender specific. The "frou-frou" packages, as the ladies like to refer to them, are geared towards giving the women soldiers a sense of comfort and femininity underneath the camouflage and boots. Items in the "girlie boxes" range from scented candles, to special soaps, nail polish and even lip gloss.

All soldiers need flip-flops for relief from the heavy duty combat boots, especially when they need to get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom.

At a recent fundraiser, a businessman challenged his employees that he would match every pair of flip-flops they bought.

"The next morning he walked into his office and saw 350 pairs of flip-flops," Peyton laughed. "So, he had to match them and we ended up shipping out half of the 700 pair donation a few days ago."

While the latest drive ends at the end of the month, the group has sent more than 18,000 care packages this year.

"When the community supports us the way they do, we can then support not only the physical needs, but also the emotional and spiritual needs of the troops," Peyton said. "When you wrap all of that up it equals a whole lot of love and troops love the support."

How to help

If you want to contribute, drop off items at these locations or visit bluestarmothersdayton.com:

Precision Tune Auto Care: 4439 N. Main St., Dayton; 5939 Brandt Pike, Huber Heights; 4864 Airway Road, Riverside; 4998 Springboro Pike, Moraine; 2625 Wilmington Pike, Kettering; 5128 Salem Ave., Trotwood

Abbey Credit Union: 800 Falls Creek Drive, Vandalia; 1341 Wayne St., Troy

Hickory River Smokehouse: 135 S. Garber Drive, Tipp City

Town & Country Shopping Center: 300 E. Stroop Road, Kettering