Help for the troops

[mike55]

Well fellow Pelican members, it's the Christmas and Holiday Season. A time of caring and giving. Wayne and Pelican parts have graciously allowed me to post this request.

I was moved by 2 stories I recently heard. One directly and the other on the TV. Firstly, my oldest daughter is in a class with a boy who has a brother serving with the Canadian forces (joint with US troops) in Afghanistan. His cel telephone bill was $700 in October, calling home to keep in touch with family and friends. Also, on TV I saw a story about a couple of kids that raised several thousand dollars in their local community (in Indiana I think???) to help out a soldier from their town that rang up an $8000 phone bill.

This got me thinking and motivated. I have a friend that distributes pre-paid phone cards and may be able to give me a wholesale price on any sized purchase. What I'd like to do is ask for small donations from members/guests and friends - $5, $10 or ??? - to purchase pre-paid phone cards. All proceeds (after Paypal fees) would go to buy the cards and I would send them off via our troop support organizations. They would be distributed in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere I would think. I do not profit at all and would do all the leg work for nothing, not that it's that much anyway. Also, there's no tax deductions for me or any donor.

If you can, great. The easiest way to donate is through Paypal. I've setup a Paypal account - troopcalls@gmail.com. I'll post status updates with amounts and donor names if so desired. Anonymous is fine too. If not, that's OK too. Maybe you can help in other ways.

Feel free to email or message me using the PP message system. Thanks and happiest of Holidays to all!

Mike

[mhoffman]

Mike-
good on ya'! What a great gesture!
I am stationed at Tampa and the two major Commands with troops forward (CENTCOM and SOCOM) are headquartered here; I'd be happy to get the points of contact and most effective methods for distribution if you like...
Send me a PM if interested.

Matt

[Wayne 962]

Thread stuck...

-Wayne

[70SWT]

As a soldier stationed here in beautiful southwest Asia myself, I've found the best or at least most commonly-used calling card is the AT&T Global Pre-paid type. We don't seem to have any hassles using that type.

I work with the command for a unit covering a significant percentage of the operational area here. PM me if I can help out.

[KCinBR]

Great Idea, I'll make a donation. I spent 22yrs serving in the SCNG and I know how much a call home can mean, especially if it's been an extended period.

[Reaper930]

Second the AT&T cards. I'm in Baghdad (after 3 years in Afghanistan) and its the most widely used.

I'm a civilian contractor - and I think you're gift will be well received. I don't have much family to speak of (why I've been here so long) and going on 4 years of missing holidays I can relate in many ways.

Set the account up and give the info so I can donate.

[Tooth911]

count me in!!!will donate for our troops

[mike55]

Since I posted this thread late yesterday, I've received several replies as can be seen and as many PMs. Thanks to all, especially those that have been over there and given advise and offered to help with the logistics. I may take you up on it.

By all accounts, this is a small gesture that can go a long, long way. Again, I encourage all to give whatever they can.

Best way to make a donation is through PayPal, account troopcalls@gmail.com . Contact me if you don't have a PayPal account.

Also, I'll assume people won't mind me posting their first name and last name initial with the donation amount. If you'd rather stay anonymous, please attach a note to the Paypal donation.

Let the giving begin!!!

Mike

[ZOA NOM]

Great idea, let's see how much the Pelicans can donate!

Reaper930, I can't say enough about how much your contribution means. Thank you.

[mkossler]

Great idea, glad to be able to add just a little to the effort. Not much, but it all adds up.

USAF vet here, 38th TRS, Zweibrücken Germany and 31st GSG Homestead FLA. God bless every one of our troops. Come back safe.

To those troops lucky enough to be able to read this post, my deepest and most heartfelt thanks and best wishes for a great holiday for you and your families. I remember being away, as long as it has been since I was in your position.

We'll see you back stateside!

Matty K.

[911Rob]

Hey I'm in, great idea and especially at this time of year!
I lost my Grandfather in the 2nd WW and my brother served in the Can Military for 20 years, he's now with the UN working in Afghanistan.

I hate to assume; but has everyone heard of "SKYPE"?
The reason I ask is because this past summer a buddy of mine started to tell me about it; he works overseas near Dubai for the oil industry. He's now saving thousands of dollars in long distance calls using SKYPE; but here's the kicker, I've known about SKYPE for over 5 years. I dont use it much anymore because I have a call anytime, anywhere plan with Telus. But if people haven't heard of SKYPE, they should check it out, its very cheap; like FREE.

I am ALWAYS more than happy to help out our troops! Thank-you for serving our Countries self-lessly! God Bless You.
Cheers,

[mike55]

Just a quick update . The response so far has been great. Hopefully it'll continue through to Christmas.

Comparing some of the most common cards that are reported to work well, the best case so far is $702 will enable 25 individuals to call from Iraq or Afghanistan to the U.S for almost 2 1/2 hours of talk time each. I'll keep searching for better alternatives. Good news is there are several support organizations that will accept the cards and distribute them to various locations both within Iraq and Afghanistan.


Here's a list of (all) donors up to this point in the order received:

$189.60 Mike R.
$10.00 K.C.
$50.00 Richard C.
$10.00 Chuck H.
$25.00 Matthew K.
$100.00 Rob McK.
$24.00 Mark W.
$25.00 Jonathan H.
$250.00 Anonymous
$100.00 Kirk E. This one is particularly touching and generous. His son was KIA in Baghdad, December 10, 2006. The donation was made in His memory.......
$50.00 Anonymous
$25.00 Keith C.
$25.00 Rex W.
$25.00 Daniel A.
$50.00 Don T.
$50.00 Warren S.
$20.00 Mike M.
$120.00 Jeffrey H.
$50.00 Mike Z.
$50.00 James T.
$100.00 Darrell E.
$25.00 Christian G.
$50.00 Mark S.
$25.00 Hudson B.
$25.00 J. M.
$15.00 Kirk F.
$20.00 Terry C.
$10.00 Mitchell L.
$100.00 Jeffrey C.
$25.00 Chris W.
$50.00 Vernon L.
$100.00 George M.


Let's try to keep it up! Thanks to all,

Mike

[Reaper930]

If you are reading this pondering a donation, just remember the reason for the dontations.

Iraq
12/01/07 SGT Reece, Matthew K. KIA
12/03/07 SGT Dayton, Kyle KIA
12/04/07 PVT White, Dewayne L. KIA
12/04/07 SGT Hernandez, Eric J. KIA
12/05/07 CPT Snyder, Adam P. KIA

These men will not have the ability to call home on Christmas due to their ultimate donation. Over here, each second could be your last...again - to those who donate THANK YOU...to those who would but do not have the means, THANK YOU. These soldiers need every break they can get.

Hug your families, shed a tear and a prayer - remember the fighting, the fallen & their families this holiday season.

To fallen soldiers let us sing
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord
No more bleeding, no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
Just divine embrace, eternal light
In the Mansions of the Lord
Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep
Through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord

[azasadny]

As a Desert Storm veteran, I really appreciate what you guys are doing. The folks who manage to rack up a huge phone bill (thousands of dollars) have other problems that we can't help, but for the vast majority of the troops, this act of kindness goes a long way. I still remember how great it was to get cards and letters from people i didn't even know!

[mike55]

Congratulations folks! We're close to getting our first 25-pack of cards. I'll wait a couple of days before purchasing. There's a good chance they might arrive in time for the Christmas and the Holiday rush. I've been told by someone that is over there that Company Commanders receive them and distribute them to those most disadvantaged. The way it should be.......

Once purchased I'll send out confirmations to all donors so you can track the progress. Let's keep it coming. I know there's more we can do. Thanks again to all,

Mike

[mike55]

...another quick update. Looks like the AT&T card is the way to go. I've received several messages from soldiers that were, or are in, Iraq and Afghanistan. This card appears to be the one of choice. I've done several price comparisons, and when combined with shipping and distribution taken into account, I've narrowed the purchase down to 2 sources. The profit margins (i.e. the profit the distributors make) on these things is pretty slim; so there's no appreciable difference from one supplier as opposed to another. The key is the way in which the cards are distributed to the soldiers. I've narrowed this down to the Red Cross and the USO.

And, it looks like the pace of visits/views to this thread and donations have slowed a bit. This is to be expected. If you know of others or can tell friends/family, please do so. I know we can raise more.

As it stands, we close to making a difference for 25 soldiers. If we can improve upon this, all the better. Thanks again,

Mike

[mike55]

Another update..... Looks like we're on our way to purchasing 2 25-packs of calling cards! Thanks to all that have considered donating and especially to those that have donated. Again, I'll keep contributors informed of purchases via email so we can all track the progress. I've posted this request on 2 other sites as well and I hope the response from those members will be equally generous as the members here .

This time of year can be particularly tough when you're half a world away from friends and family. Based on the feedback I've received, this gesture will deliver far more than it's dollar value; so let's keep it coming!

Thanks and Best of the Season to all,

Mike

[mike55]

Update....... I added some funds so we could make a full purchase of 2, 25 pack of cards. All donors check your emails for confirmation. Thanks again to all!!! And for those of you thinking of donating, please do. It's never too late and it would be great if we could do it for another 50 soldiers!

Mike

[mike55]

OK folks. Looks like we're running out of steam heading into the Christmas week. I'd like to keep this thread going through next week and then end it. A huge thanks to all that have donated. I hope you all feel as good as I do about the gifts we're able to send to those in harm's way, a long way from home this Holiday Season.

For those of you contemplating a donation, please do. It would be great if we could deliver another batch of cards.

....and I'd like to say a special thanks to Wayne D. for allowing me to post here and make the message as prominent as he has. We all owe him our continuing support at the very least.

Best of the Season to all,

Mike

[rcwaldo]

Just Paypal'd $25 - -this is cool!!