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| How to Help Our Wounded Vets this Christmas (& Hannakah) |
| 2004-12-09 |
| From an e-mail posted by Hugh Hewitt: The number ONE request at Walter Reed hospital is phone cards. The government doesn't pay long distance phone charges and these wounded soldiers are rationing their calls home. Many will be there throughout the holidays. Really support our troops --Send phone cards of any amount to: Medical Family Assistance CenterThey say they need an "endless" supply of these -- any amount even $5 is greatly appreciated. Walmart has good prices on AT&T cards, Sams Club is even better, if you are a member. I am sure you would feel better about doing this, than to buy something for a third cousin, find it on the closet shelf six months later, and wonder where it came from. C'mon, Rantburgers - I'm sure most of us could afford at least one $5 card. I'm a Sam's member and will be stopping by this weekend to pick up some cards. (And this is in spite of needing $3600 to replace my furnace.) |
| Posted by:Barbara Skolaut |
| #15 hey Dar- go to hell! How many in a hospital have a credit card available? The dog will eat the sign out sheet- volunteers are NOT plentiful. I suggest you call someone who cares! Not this gal** Good night you are giving me a headache with your rhetoric!! Andrea Jackson |
| Posted by: Andrea Jackson 2004-12-09 9:18:06 PM |
| #14 Andrea--Picture this: you want a phone, you check it out using your military ID, or more preferably a credit card. It's available after 7pm and must be returned by, oh, say, midnight. Calls are free between those hours, so abuse can't take place. Lose the phone, you're billed for it and any overage charges--unless you notify the center immediately so they can contact the provider and remove the phone from service. Then you're just billed for the phone. A limited number of phones would likely be in demand, so a signout sheet can be used to reserve a phone for some future evening. Then it's yours for the evening, or less if you want to return it early. Yeah, it'd take more organization and effort than handing out long distance cards, but it's not all that complicated. Any volunteer or candy-striper could handle this and probably enjoy it--you'd be pretty popular handing out phones for making free long distance calls. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-12-09 9:08:17 PM |
| #13 You are correct, but who is going to police all the cell phone usage ?? The short staffed nurse's?? What about stealing cell phones?? I can picture that happening. I think calling card's are the safest way. Let the radio stations know and allow some air time for our soldier's. Our local T.V. station in Springfield Mass gives air time as well. I think the FOX network does this as well. ANdrea Jackson |
| Posted by: Andrea Jackson 2004-12-09 8:39:43 PM |
| #12 Bingo. Long distance is almost costless. Phone cards are the wrong way to go. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-12-09 7:50:06 PM |
| #11 ...the hell? I've never paid long distance charges since the day I bought my cell phone! There's got to be some way of getting some cell phones to these guys--like a central hospital pool of phones they can share--so they can call anywhere nationwide without incurring LD charges. With Sprint, I have unlimited calls on weekday nights after 7pm and all day on weekends and holidays with no LD charges, and that's only one of the smaller $30/month plans (there are probably cheaper plans as well). That's early enough in the evening for plenty of quality chat time on the east coast, and with Walter Reed being in the EST that works fine all night long for soldiers calling their relatives back west as necessary. If we could donate to a fund for such a cell phone pool it'd save tons o' $$$ in the long run over the pre-paid LD cards. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-12-09 7:46:47 PM |
| #10 # 9 correct. Several phone carriers open up there lines to those in the military to CALL HOME for FREE. You may also contact Radio stations as they make public service announcements between music request's for any soldier. As a matter of fact I heard one last night from a Natioanl Guard Member who is in Iraq being sent to a family member in Boston. Many can call over the internet as well. I will send a couple phone card's to Walter Reed. I'm a giver NOT a taker. Andrea Jackson |
| Posted by: Andrea Jackson 2004-12-09 7:13:49 PM |
| #9 Not to pass the buck but the major telcos really should be stepping up and offering free calls to these soldiers. The cost to the carriers is next to nil anyway. I've emailed the PR folks and corporate foundation types at Verizon and SBC. Let's hope they step up. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-12-09 5:09:21 PM |
| #8 Excellent idea, .com. Maybe if the wounded have access to computers, they will learn about us, come here, and realize they're respected and not alone. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-12-09 4:35:18 PM |
| #7 And donate in the name of rantburg.com, heh. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-12-09 2:46:34 PM |
| #6 Thanx, Russ - saved me having to leave the comfortable confines of my lair, heh... |
| Posted by: .com 2004-12-09 2:45:50 PM |
| #5 Order online and have them shipped directly. |
| Posted by: RussSchultz 2004-12-09 2:41:08 PM |
| #4 Excellent post, Barbara - Thx! I don't have stamps or anything else I need to do this, I do everything over the 'Net, but it rings true - and the address being Walter Reed gives me sufficient confidence it's legit. Thanks, again, Barb, heh. I'll get out there today and give this a shot! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-12-09 2:36:55 PM |
| #3 Considering the address is the correct address for Walter Reed Medical Center, I would guess that its legit. If not, there's always the VfW link. |
| Posted by: RussSchultz 2004-12-09 2:36:51 PM |
| #2 http://www.operationuplink.org/faq.cfm You can donate, tax deductible, through the VFW program linked here. Or, if you have a costco membership, they have packs of 28 120min cards for $100. (comes to ~3c a min) Or, there seems to be all sorts of online places that have $5 cards that make calls for less than that. |
| Posted by: RussSchultz 2004-12-09 2:34:59 PM |
| #1 Which is better, several small denomination cards or one large one? Me thinks many smaller ones, but, what do I know. PS You verify the honesty of the group involved? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2004-12-09 2:33:43 PM |