Jared Sowards of Campbell will be joined by an expected crowd of several hundred people at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Saratoga on Feb. 8 to write letters and Valentine's Day cards to troops stationed overseas. Among the participants of Operation Yellow Ribbon (Silicon Valley) will be students from Campbell, Saratoga and Oak Grove school districts.

"Whether or not people agree that troops should be over there, the fact still remains that they need our support," Sowards said.

Next Saturday's event will also feature a color guard presentation, representatives from the Army and Air Force, speakers, activities for children and a balloon release.

Sowards' first Operation Yellow Ribbon project, which he took on as an Eagle Scout project, involved coordinating a letter writing and care package campaign for U.S. troops during Operation Desert Storm. With the participation of several businesses and community groups, that effort yielded more than 11.5 tons of care packages.

A number of soldiers wrote back to express their gratitude and to share their experiences, and some enclosed money from other countries to show those back home what it looked like, Sowards said. He called the opportunity to receive such "a personal part of history" an "added bonus and education."

Anyone who wishes to write letters after Feb. 8 may leave them at the Campbell Community Center, 1 W. Campbell Ave. Care packages will not be sent until late February or early March, by which time additional drop-off sites will be available. Interested individuals can learn more about the various locations by checking updates on Sowards' website.

For the time being, Sowards is financing Operation Yellow Ribbon (Silicon Valley) himself. As the care package drive gets under way, he said, he will turn to local businesses for support and is considering a partnership with a nonprofit organization to help pay the shipping costs. Sowards said he also plans to have other Boy Scouts involved with the project come March.

The Feb. 8 event will run from 10 a.m. to noon at the sports field behind the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, located at 19100 Allendale Ave. Extra parking will be available at West Valley College, next to the field. For more information, visit www.geocities.com/operationyellowribbon/.