A yard sale Saturday to benefit local Army National Guard soldiers training in Mississippi was a big success, organizers say, and Bowling Green and surrounding communities are to thank for it.

“Checks are still coming in,” said Debbie Robinson, a member of the Kentucky Army National Guard Family Support Group. “We don't have a dollar amount, but I'm pretty sure we've met our goal.”

The goal was to raise $7,000 through a bake sale and yard sale, in order to charter two buses to bring about 105 Bowling Green soldiers home before their deployment to Iraq later this year. The soldiers, whose 18-month deployment began June 27, are training in Camp Shelby, Miss., and the family support group was concerned some families couldn't afford to bring their loved ones home.

“We have enough money to get the guys home and give them Christmas gift packs,” said Stephanie Malazarte, also a member of the group. “It was just amazing. The community support was good, too - a lot of people came to just basically say ‘thank you' and show that they do support our soldiers.”

The group asked community members to donate yard sale and bake sale items on Friday night, but wasn't expecting the deluge of contributions they received, said Robinson, whose two sons are among the soldiers in Mississippi. On Saturday, she said, support group members were pricing items at 7:30 a.m. when someone peeked through the armory's garage door and reported there were already lines of people as far as the eye could see.

“There must have been 200 people that just blasted through that door when we opened it,” she said. “I've never seen anything like that.”

The sale continued until 4 p.m., said Malazarte, whose husband is also in Mississippi.

The day turned out to be educational as well, Robinson said, as veterans of all ages turned out to show their support.

“I've never seen anything like that,” she said. “We were really tickled.”

The soldiers will join three other Army National Guard units in attaching to the 149th infantry from Barbourville, also known as the Mountain Warriors. It's the largest deployment of the Kentucky National Guard since World War II, Robinson said.

T-shirts bearing the crest of the soldiers' unit, as well as wax teddy bears and patriotic silicone bracelets embossed with the words, “Proud to be an American” and “We're all in this together” are still available, Robinson said. Contributions are being accepted at any BB&T branch - checks should be made out to “Family Support Group.”

-For more information, contact Debbie Robinson at moondog.robinson@insightbb.com.