AT&T recently announced that it is working with United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) to distribute an additional 10,000 free prepaid phone cards to U.S. military members overseas in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East this holiday season. This is the third batch contributing to more than 30,000 prepaid phone cards??? valued at $270,000??? that AT&T has donated to the U.S. military in 2006.
This holiday phone card donation follows military donations made in honor of the Father's Day and July Fourth holidays. It is the company's third and final wave of donated prepaid cards this year and will be distributed to troops this holiday season in two ways: AT&T will hand out roughly half of the cards to troops on military bases in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Spain, and the USO will assist with the rest through USO distribution centers in South Korea, Japan Germany and Italy.
Distribution of the phone cards is already under way so that troops will have them in time for Thanksgiving, a peak time for phoning home from military calling centers, according to AT&T. According to the USO, the number one item requested by military personnel is a prepaid calling card. The phone card donation follows the company's $250,000 sponsorship of the USO's celebrity entertainment program this year.
"Many military members will be away from their loved ones on Thanksgiving and through the December holiday season, a time typically focused on families spending time together here at home," said Cathy Martine, senior vice president-AT&T National Mass Markets. "We want to help connect these families as the holidays approach??? and to honor the many men and women who sacrifice so much."
If you would like to donate phone cards to deployed service members, visit the USO's Operation Phone Home??.
