April 24 kicked off a weekend for heroes at Wareham Crossing, with donations collected for troops serving in the Armed Forces.

"All the stores really did come together," Army Staff Sergeant Justin Schmidt said of the event, called "Celebrating Heroes."

Phone cards and cell phones were donated at AT&T, Best Buy, JCPenney, and Cosi. White socks were donated at Old Navy and JCPenney, and bug spray and duct tape were accepted at Lowes.

"The event was a success," said Lowes employee Darla Fincham, who helped coordinate the store's involvement. "Everybody is always happy to support the troops."

JCPenney Human Resource Manager Heather McFadden said the event brought in a "considerable amount" of socks, as well as a big box of cell phones for troops.

The Army, Coast Guard, and National Guard hosted booths at the event. Attendees could have dog tags made, and test their strength using pull-up bars and a push-up station.

Various military vehicles were on display, including a Humvee, and a Coast Guard boat that attracted lots of youngsters.

Wareham High School's Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) members, some of whom were in full uniform, washed cars for free, with donations accepted for the Haiti earthquake relief effort. They started at 9:30 a.m. and worked straight through Saturday's afternoon sun to 3 p.m.

Asked how the day had been, as a long line of cars approached just before 3 p.m. Saturday,18-year-old Crystal Painter replied, simply: "Hot."