Community Answers the Call for Prepaid Phone Cards for Troops

Community Answers the Call for Prepaid Phone Cards for Troops

News Release: May 13, 2003
Contact: Janice Osborne, Manager-Media & Community Affairs (610) 865-4400, ext. 262

3,430 Phone Cards Totaling 438,342 Minutes Will Link Troops With Loved Ones

Laid end to end, they stretch nearly two city blocks. Stacked like a deck of cards, they reach a height of 7-Ľ feet. Used from Iraq or Turkey to call a loved one in the United States, they are priceless.

The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley collected 3,430 prepaid phone cards, totaling 438,342 minutes of calling time, for American troops stationed overseas.

"We are truly astonished at the number of cards and money donated by the community for this effort," said John R. Hughes, executive director. "A lot of service men and women and their families are going to receive the best gift of all: the sound of their loved ones' voices. We can think of no better way of connecting military families during this time of unsettledness around the world."

The cards were given to Major Gregory Robb and First Sergeant/Readiness NCO Matthew C. Hensinger of the 213th Area Support Group in Allentown for distribution to troops overseas.

Cordelia Miller, emergency services director at American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley, First Sergeant/Readiness NCO Matthew C. Hensinger of the 213th Area Support Group in Allentown and Major Gregory Robb, show the more than 3,400 prepaid phone cards donated for American troops

Helping with the collection effort, which ran from March 26 through April 18, were radio station WZZO, Enter.Net and the Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce. Robin Lee, program director at WZZO, promoted the effort on the air and on the station's Web site. "I can't tell you how touched I was by all the wonderful people who stopped by the station to drop off cards. One youngster dropped off phone cards along with a poster-size card she created with words of encouragement to our troops. I was reduced to tears."

Bill Brackbill, president of the Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce, was equally heartfelt to the community for their generous donations. "The people in our community embraced the effort. Perhaps the most emotional moment for me," said Brackbill, "was receiving a donation of cards from St. John's United Church of Christ of Williams Township in memory of Captain Christopher Seifert, who died in Iraq. It really struck home."

Enter.Net, a local Internet service provider company, kicked off the campaign by making a corporate donation of $1,000 and also served as a collection point for the cards. "Our company wanted to do something for our armed forces," said owners Margo, Larry and Justin Corsa. "This seemed like the perfect gift for our troops and their families. We were happy to contribute to this effort."

First Sergeant Matthew C. Hensinger of the
213th Area Support Group in Allentown carts
out phone cards from Red Cross chapter

More than 48 students preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish of Pen Argyl chose the cards as a service project. "The class ended up donating 86 cards totaling 11,870 minutes, exceeding our goal of 10,000 minutes," said Charles DeBellis, an assistant religious education teacher and retired member of the military.

Through combined efforts of the F.L. Smidth Group companies located in Bethlehem and at two of its local plants, 770 cards were donated. "We originally began collecting cards for the families of nine employees who had relatives serving overseas," said Jamie Royer, senior engineering technician, at F.L. Smidth Inc. "We didn't expect it to mushroom." In just one week employees gave more than $3,100, which the group company then matched. That money was then used to purchase the cards. "The average donation was over $10 a person," said Royer. "One employee gave us $100. I can't tell you how much this project meant to us."

Word of the support effort for the troops spread across the country. "We received donations in the form of money and cards from residents and organizations in Nevada, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, New York and Minnesota. We even got a call from a group in Canada who wanted to conduct a similar campaign," said Hughes.

Major Gregory Robb (forefront) and
First Sergeant Matthew C. Hensinger
ready the boxes of phone cards for
distribution to American troops overseas

The chapter chose to collect prepaid phone cards as an easy-to-transport and distribute item, rather than large volumes of goods.

Currently there are 36 American Red Cross staff members deployed to the Persian Gulf region. According to national Red Cross officials, it has delivered 6,804 serious illness and death messages, briefed more than 265,107 Guard and Reserve members and families and active duty service members, opened 10 new deployment offices, delivered 1,614 birth messages, and distributed more than 186,000 comfort kits. Since Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment began, the workload increased 48 percent and staffing increased 20 percent.

Since the conflict began in Afghanistan in 2002, the local Red Cross has given 10 deployment briefs to 890 departing service members and their families in the Greater Lehigh Valley. Those service members were part of the Army Reserve, National Guard, Navy/Marine Corps Reserve, Air Defense and Artillery units in Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties.

The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley serves more than 660,000 residents in Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties. Last year the Red Cross provided health and safety education training and emergency relief services to more than 20,000 Greater Lehigh Valley residents. For more information, call (610) 865-4400 or visit www.redcrosslv.org.