Lincoln -- When fans come to the Nebraska men’s basketball team’s Red-White Scrimmage at the Devaney Center at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30, Nebraska National Guardsmen will be collecting ‘gifts of comfort’ for Project Comfort, a non-profit organization based out of Fort Riley, Kan. Admission to the scrimmage is free but fans are encouraged to bring a used stuffed animal or doll to donate to the project.

Part of Project Comfort’s objective is to provide the stuffed animals and dolls to troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The troops then give the ‘gifts of comfort’ to local children in those areas, and the effect has been to help lower the violence in those parts of Iraq where the animals and dolls have been distributed. People can also write letters of encouragement to thank the soldiers for their service as another of the project’s goals.

Nebraska National Guardsmen will be available to collect the stuffed animals and dolls at the North and South entrances of the Devaney Center on Saturday. Doors for the event open at 3 p.m. The 40-minute scrimmage begins at 4 p.m.

Robert Hildreth will sing the National Anthem before the game and at halftime will perform one of his original songs from the Project Comfort CD. More information on Project Comfort, including addresses to email or mail letters to soldiers, can be found at www.projectcomfort.com.