Feb 03, 2011
As of Jan. 16, 2011, VFW Operation Uplink™ “Free Call Day” (FCD) surpassed 5 million connections made from deployed military personnel to their loved ones at home. Operation Uplink hosts Free Call Days for service members serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, as well as hospitalized veterans, giving them the opportunity to call their loved ones in the States at no cost.
Free Call Days are available at more than 700 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, on the day of the FCD the café manager can issue them one. A sponsor message greets them before the call is placed to inform them that the call is at no charge, and they are free to talk for as long as they are able.
The program is the only one of its kind, providing two designated days each month when deployed service members making phone calls from their MWR center to the U.S. are greeted by a recording which states the call will be free, courtesy of Operation Uplink.
VFW and Ladies Auxiliary members, as well as other caring citizens, generously support the program. The VFW is proud of Operation Uplink because it provides an easy way for individuals and organizations to make an immediate difference in the lives of active-duty military personnel.
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 and Harleysville Insurance, the program began hosting Free Call Days.
Click here if you or your corporation is interested in sponsoring a Free Call Day! Contact John Lowe of the VFW Foundation at 816-756-3390 or JLowe@vfw.org with any questions.