In honor of the National Day of Service, Life is Good will galvanize volunteers and partners to assemble care packages for local troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan at the 2010 Life is Good Festival at Blue Hills, MA.

Life is Good said partners include the police and fire departments of Canton and Milton, the Massachusetts State Police, Canton and Milton schools, UPS, The Container Store, and the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund.

The service event will be one of thousands taking place across the nation on September 11. Volunteers will assemble more than 500 care packages from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the on-site “giving tent” during the Life is good Festival at Blue Hills in Canton.

Below is a list of items festival personnel are seeking:

* Sunblock (6 oz. tubes), lip balm (15 oz.), bug spray (4 oz.), hydrocortisone (2 oz.), antifungal foot powder (travel size)

* Baby wipes (5×7 travel packs), moleskin bandages (flat, not quilted), tissues (individual packs), soap (individual size), Ziploc bags (gallon size)

* Phone cards, pens, playing cards, socks, boot laces (64”-72”)

* Instant coffee (single serve size), powdered creamers (single serve size), cranberry sauce, hard candy (nothing that melts), granola bars, beef jerky, single serving non-perishables (almonds, sunflower seeds, crackers)

The packages will be assembled at the 9/11 Giving Tent located onsite at the 2010 Life is good Festival at Blue Hills. In addition to the items collected, Life is good volunteers and festival attendees will create personalized notes for each package. Packages will be assembled from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on September 11 and 12.

“It is rare in this day and age of large corporations in America to find a company that still has commitment to cultural, global, and social initiatives that affect us all,” Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz said. “We are looking forward to building on this exciting new partnership, and our hope is that military families, as well as children in need, will benefit from the proceeds raised at the festival. I salute Life is good for their efforts.”

“We consider it a great privilege to partner with the Canton and Milton police and fire departments in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11,” said Bert Jacobs, chief executive optimist for Life is good. “Each care package for our troops abroad will be assembled with tremendous pride. Without those brave men and women, even the simplest of life’s pleasures would not be possible.”