TEMECULA -- Operation DVD, a nonprofit organization aimed at getting movies and music CDs to troops deployed overseas, has set up a warehouse at Vail Lake Resorts. Move-in day started Friday with a shipment of 80,000 DVDs donated by Time-Life Inc.

Already, thousands of DVDs -- plus numerous PlayStation and Xbox video games -- have been sent out to troops by the organization. The goal is to get that total to 1 million, according to spokesman Robert Boots.

Operation DVD was founded two years ago by Dan Watkins, a pastor in Kansas. Leaders of the Temecula Valley Young Marines, a youth education and service program, will take over the organization's efforts after a year of working with its original leadership. Watkins will still help Operation DVD in other ways, such as organization logo design and promotion of the effort within the religious community.

"Soldiers need some way to relax when they're not on duty," said Michael Guiles, commanding officer of Temecula Valley Young Marines. "We are giving our troops the safest form of entertainment for their situation, especially those in Iraq or Iran. For example, if Marines go outside and play baseball, they could get shot by snipers, or encounter hidden land mines and mortar fire."

Boots said he doesn't want the sentiment behind Operation DVD to be misunderstood.

"This is about supporting our military. It is not about supporting the war," Boots said.

Operation DVD also sends some of the donated G-rated movies to military families, according to Guiles.

The warehouse in Vail Lake serves as a spot for sorting the donated DVDs, Guiles also said. The items are stored at another secured location until they are shipped out.

Bill Johnson, owner of Vail Lake Resorts, allows the Temecula Valley Young Marines to use the warehouse at the resort in exchange for the group's assistance with resort events.

"Anything we can do to help our military and their families, we should do," Johnson said. "This is my way of helping."

Operation DVD is looking for donations of new or used DVD movies, music compact discs, MP3 players and DVD players. Financial donations are also welcomed.

Unacceptable donations include pornographic movies or bootleg copies of movies, Guiles said.

Donations of religious-based movies are also not recommended because merely possessing religious items in areas such as Iraq could present a danger to the soldiers, said Guiles, who had been a Marine for 15 years.

Anyone interested in donating goods or money can contact Guiles at (951) 553-3519 or by e-mail at TVYMCO@tvym.us.

Contact staff writer Lorell Fleming at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2621, or lfleming@californian.com.