RIPLEY — Students, teachers and honored guests from several counties celebrated the successful collection of care packages for soldiers fighting abroad Monday at Ripley High School.

Mostly, they celebrated the soldiers.

"Some of the students felt like the sacrifices of the soldiers were being forgotten,” said Jody Webber, a Ripley teacher who spearheaded the drive along with Ponca City teacher Helen Coleman as Family Career and Community Leaders of America regional counselors.

"They’ve sacrificed so much being away from their families, and in some cases, even losing their lives. We wanted them to know they were being remembered,” Webber said of the project.

Students from 31 schools as far away as Crescent, Chandler, Drumright and Blackwell participated in the drive. In the end, 67 boxes crammed with items such as beef jerky, magazines and toothbrushes were collected.

The boxes will be mailed free of charge to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan by the Oklahoma chapter of Blue Star Moms — a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support for soldiers at war.

"I was pretty much shocked by how much they collected,” said Sgt. William Zinn, a U.S. Army recruiter in Stillwater who provided support.

"They got half a school bus worth of items. That’s impressive,” he said.