Lauren's Work was looking more like play.

Roughly two dozen young adults stood along a line of folding tables, quickly placing small items such as candy, bags of pretzels and beef jerky into Christmas stockings. Somehow, the motions of assembly-line effort had morphed into a contest between the two groups.

"Oh yeah!" shouted Matt Dee, 26, pumping a fist into the air and striking a Schwarzenegger-like pose as his "WWE" team reached its goal first. The others -- "Team Winners" -- appeared remarkably unperturbed.

In fact, a moment later, they broke into a chorus of "Jingle Bells" as they worked to prepare another stocking.

"They're using their evil powers of song!" joked Dan Tomko, a senior at Mt. Lebanon High School who was part of a National Honor Society group that in recent weeks teamed with members of Lauren's Work on "Operation Stocking Blitz."

"This is fun," said Melissa Pasquarelli, 26, of Upper St. Clair. A first-time participant, Miss Pasquarelli stood back shyly at first before blending into the group activities.

Lauren's Work is a nonprofit organization that brings together young adults with developmental disabilities to work on service projects. In the case of Operation Stocking Blitz, the honor society seniors helped collect and direct the packaging of sundries that would eventually be put into stockings and sent overseas to U.S. troops via Military Connections, a nonprofit group that provides support and supplies to deployed military.

Then they got together with Lauren's Work members last Thursday and Saturday to make like Santa's elves.

It was the brainchild of Mt. Lebanon resident Sue Shingle, whose daughter, Lauren, 19, has been diagnosed with mental retardation. Many of the disabled young adults had met through special needs classes at the Center for Theater Arts in Mt. Lebanon.

Young adults in the Mt. Lebanon, Keystone Oaks, Peters Township, South Fayette and Bethel Park School Districts, among others, work together on a variety of service projects throughout the year, although Lauren's Work only became an official 501(c)(3) group in January.

The primary goals of Lauren's Work, Mrs. Shingle wrote for the organization fact sheet, "are to embrace the belief that all participants in the program will work side by side on activities in a shared environment that emphasizes self-advocacy, respect and personal growth.

"Additionally, participants have the potential for acquiring skills for gainful employment. The activities are created in ways that provide an opportunity for this young group of adults to give back to their community while fostering lifetime connection of companions and friends among those who work with them."

Debbie Clarke of Upper St. Clair, whose daughter, Jenny, 17, is a junior at USC High School, said Operation Stocking Blitz participants were "a great group, almost ideal."

"[Jenny] enjoys getting together with her friends from the Center for Theater Arts, but usually anyone else there are just the parents," she said.

"The way we'd normally do it would be to ask for a $10 donation [for stocking supplies]," said Summer Tissue, director of Military Connections. "But this is such a morale booster. Lauren's Work helps us all year."

She said boxes containing gifts and sundries for 900 soldiers was shipped last week; about 3,000 stockings from various sources will be sent.

Last Thursday, Lauren's Work produced 100. Each stocking also contains a card signed by the people who worked on it.

Before starting the stocking assemblies, which took place in a conference room at the Mt. Lebanon High School, everyone snacked on a dinner of chicken fingers while getting acquainted. Many of the high school students wore Santa hats or reindeer antlers, and the Lauren's Work participants also had jingle bell necklaces or wristbands.

Honor Society member Ellis Baehr stood in the middle of the crowd and explained how items from each basket on the table would be placed into the stockings.

"It's kind of rote," said Mrs. Shingle. "But if you have a young adult who can't count, or who wants to put five of the same item into each stocking, you need a little help."

After Miss Shingle helped her mother put together a basket of toiletries for a Ronald McDonald House last year, Mrs. Shingle said, she noticed how focused her daughter was in the task: "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, you're really good at this.' "

Many of the young adults in Lauren's Work are in a transition stage between school and work. Life skills, Mrs. Shingle said, can be developed through service projects such as Operation Stocking Blitz.

There are roughly 21,000 young adults in Pennsylvania currently in transition between secondary education who cannot yet participate in human service day/work programs or receive job coaching services and/or residential services. As they wait for funding, or "waiver dollars," programs such as Lauren's Work can bridge the gap.

The service projects appear to be win/win all the way around.

"I am thrilled every time we get together," said Mrs. Shingle. "The last time, a young woman in our group with autism who doesn't say much, turned to me and said 'Can I help you clean up?'

"This work makes them the givers, and they are always used to being the receivers. This gives them so much. And, of course, they just love to have fun."