VFW Operation Uplink ‘Free Call Day’ Program Tops 7 Million Connections
The program allows overseas service members to call home at no cost
January 07, 2013
The Veterans of Foreign
Wars (VFW) proudly announces its Operation Uplink™ “Free Call
Day” program recently surpassed 7 million connections from deployed
military personnel to their loved ones at home. The program hosts Free
Call Days for service members serving in Afghanistan and Kuwait, as well as hospitalized
veterans, giving them the opportunity to call family and friends in the United States
at no cost.
The
program will also expand in 2013 when it begins providing three designated Free
Call Days each month, more than ever before. Sport Clips Haircuts, a longtime
supporter of the program through its annual “Help A Hero” fundraising campaign,
made the expansion possible with a $500,000 donation to the program in
December. The donation was the single largest in Operation Uplink’s history. Sport
Clips has donated almost $2 million to the program since 2007.
“The
VFW is proud ofOperation
Uplinkbecause it makes such a difference in the lives
of our active-duty military. Being able to talk to your loved ones free of
charge while you’re thousands of miles away from your home is a precious gift,”
says VFW Commander-in-Chief John Hamilton, a Vietnam veteran.
Free
Call Days are available at more than 600 Morale, Welfare and Recreation center Internet
cafés using SPAWAR. Service members use their regular SPAWAR prepaid PIN
number and then follow normal dialing procedures. If they don’t have a PIN, the
café manager can issue them one on the Free Call Day. A sponsor message
greets the caller before the call is placed to inform them the call is at no
charge, and they are free to talk as long as they are able.
Operation Uplink began in 1996, initially providing
calling cards to deployed and hospitalized troops. On Mother's Day 2006, due to
the growing popularity of the program and thanks to the generosity of corporate
donors like Sport Clips, the program began hosting Free Call Days.
To
learn more about the Operation Uplink Free Call Day program, including the 2013
Free Call Day schedule, click here.
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