Mothers of deployed U.S. troops received very special gifts this Mother’s Day, thanks to a VFW Operation UplinkTM“Free Call Day,” sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary to the VFW. The Free Call Day allowed overseas military personnel to call home free-of-charge and personally wish their moms a happy Mother’s Day.
Free Call Days are available to troops and hospitalized veterans in Afghanistan and Kuwait.
Service members can call home any time during the 24-hour Free Call Day and are free to talk to family and friends as long as they are able.
Thousands of mothers were extremely thankful for the calls they received. Kimberly Pedersonwas one of them. She posted on VFW’s Facebook page, “I'm a grateful mom who got one of those free phone calls. Thank you for supporting our troops!”
The overseas service members were no doubt grateful for the opportunity to speak with loved ones as well, using hundreds of thousands of free minutes.
Free Call Days are offered at more than 600 MWR Internet cafes using SPAWAR located at various military installations in Afghanistan and Kuwait. The program is the only one of its kind, providing two designated days each month when deployed service members can make phone calls to the U.S. at no cost.
Overall the program has provided over 6.5 million connections since it began offering Free Call Days in 2006.
The next Free Call Day is scheduled for Memorial Day on May 27, and is sponsored by Sport Clips. Click here for the full Free Call Day schedule.
If you or your corporation is interested in sponsoring a Free Call Day, click here. Contact John Lowe of the VFW Foundation at 816-756-3390 or JLowe@vfw.org with any questions.
To learn more about VFW’s Operation Uplink program and other VFW National Military Services programs, click here.