On Sat. March 29, the V.F.W. Post on Neponset Avenue will serve as the staging point for Dorchester S.O.S. (Support Our Soldiers) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The SOS group will gather sunscreen, baby wipes, soap and other hygiene products, as well as magazines, newspapers, etc. to include in care packages that will be sent to local men and women from Dorchester who are now in the Persian Gulf region. The effort is being led by the Carver family of Pope's Hill. Peter Carver, an Army reservist, is now on duty in Kuwait/Iraq. Many local schools, including St. Ann's, the Murphy, St. Brendan's, the Neighborhood House Charter School, Project D.E.E.P., and St. Mark's are helping with the effort.

Carver said this week that the effort has "gained such momentum in the last few weeks that we decided to incorporate a rally to coincide with our necessities drive."

The rally will be held during the drive at the V.F.W. Post at 10 a.m. Congressman Stephen Lynch, Colonel William Sinnott USMCR, and Thomas G. Kelley, Commissioner of Veterans Services for Massachusetts, will be among the speakers.

"There will be music and refreshments interspersed with plenty of work packing boxes for our heroes, so please join us and help us spread the word," Carver said.

By Jim O'Sullivan

Peter Carver is a long way from Pope's Hill.

Stationed in the desert north of Kuwait City, Carver, a chief warrant officer in the Army Reserves, has been in the Middle East more than a month, shipping out from California. Eighteen years in the service, Carver is preparing to fight for his country in the war that seems to draw closer with every CNN posting.

And anyone who feels like showing their appreciation should show up at the Neponset V.F.W. Post on March 29 with a bottle of sunscreen, a box of baby wipes, a bar of soap, or a letter with news of what's happening back home.

Peter's brother Phil has organized Dorchester S.O.S. (Support Our Soldiers), a drive to send to the Dorchester troops serving overseas the supplies and necessities that they're lacking. Word has filtered back that the men and women fighting under the stars and stripes don't have enough of some of the necessities that we have lying around the house: in addition to those mentioned above, shaving supplies, soap, and magazines are reportedly not plentiful.

"My husband has said that they don't have a whole lot of running water over there and can't always get to clean facilities," says Liz Carver, who, along with four kids under seven years-old, are all awaiting Peter's return from the desert. "Another thing he asks for every time I speak to him is news, because they don't have a lot of it over there and any kind of news is welcome."

Phil Carver got the idea from the drive, which he says is gaining momentum and popularity, when he heard his brother was missing some of the essentials from home.

"It's the little things" - like ketchup packets, Phil says, "the things that you and I would take for granted."

Carver says he hears every day about another O.F.D. who's shipped out or is about to, and that the response has been tremendous.

"It doesn't matter whether you think the war is right or wrong, where you stand, this is about responding and showing appreciation for our brothers and sisters who are over there."

Some of that response is coming from the neighborhood schools, where grade-school children are doing their best to help the cause. St. Ann's, the Murphy, St. Brendan's, the Neighborhood House Charter School, Project D.E.E.P., and St. Mark's are among the organizations where children are collecting goods and writing letters to the soldiers getting ready to fight in a conflict that some of the youngsters don't understand yet.

"There's no question in my mind that the kids know something is going on," says Ed Butler, principal of St. Mark's School. "I think it touches home because I know the older kids are talking about it now, which they weren't before."

Dennis Napier served in the Army during the 1980s and received an e-mail from his friend Phil Carver letting him know about the drive. Napier, who lives in Dedham, is working with people there and with the Dedham High student council to start an S.O.S. in his own town.

"Not only did I think it was a great idea, but I decided to start something here as well," says Napier, who plans to start the initiative by the end of the week.

Liz Carver says she only talks to her husband Peter maybe once a week and, as of Tuesday night, hadn't heard from him in 10 or 11 days. Without regular phone calls and with limited e-mail contact, one or two letters a week don't seem enough. Liz says the morale of her husband and his comrades will improve with gifts and letters from home.

"They're without news, they're without their families, they're without their regular jobs, and anything will help," Liz says. "The big thing they ask for is mail, any type of mail."

Phil says he heard his brother was thirsty for news from back home, and that periodic issues of the Reporter excited him. (The Reporter is offering free subscriptions to any Dorchester man or women serving overseas.) But mail from anywhere is welcome, and Carver and other organizers will provide addresses for those interested.

"This effort addresses both a physical and emotional need for our brothers and sisters," Phil Carver says. Anyone interested in helping out can call Phil Carver at 282-4342. On Sat. March 29, the Neponset V.F.W. Post will serve as the staging point for Dorchester S.O.S. from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Reporter at 150 Mt. Vernon, Ste. 120, and C.F. Donovan's at 112 Savin Hill Ave. will serve as alternate drop-offs.