Homelink ensures family communication
by Master Sgt. Jim Randall
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
2/2/2004 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Operation Homelink is a nonprofit organization that facilitates e-mail communication between deployed servicemembers and their loved ones by providing free, refurbished computers to families of junior-enlisted servicemembers deployed overseas.
“Military families want to know their loved ones are safe when they’re deployed overseas,” said Dan Shannon, founder and president of Operation Homelink. “Many (families of junior-enlisted personnel) do not own computers and must rely on slow postal mail service and expensive long distance. E-mail can solve this problem.”
The all-volunteer organization was formed in February 2003 and has received so many requests for computers that it has had difficulties trying to keep up with the demand.
“Although we have successfully linked hundreds of military families since launching our operations, word has quickly spread and we now have more than 2,500 families waiting for a computer,” Mr. Shannon said.
“The backlog is a problem because it takes time to process orders, and we want to get computers out to families as quickly as possible,” Mr. Shannon said. “We can only accept requests once the military person is deployed, and if people have to wait months to get a computer, it defeats our purpose.”
Besides processing orders, Operation Homelink faces the challenge of acquiring donated computers and coordinating their refurbishment and shipping. The organization depends on defense contractors and other large American corporations to donate used computers. Operation Homelink does not accept individual donations.
Corporations benefit from the program by retiring used computers in a cost-effective, secure manner, protecting the environment from unnecessary waste and showing appreciation for servicemembers overseas.
To qualify for a free computer, applicants must reside in the continental United States and be a spouse, parent or guardian of an active-duty servicemember who is deployed for 90 days or more. Spouses, parents or guardians of a servicemember who works aboard an active U.S. Navy ship or is a mobilized member of the Reserve or National Guard on recall orders of at least one year and is currently outside the continental United States also qualify.
Operation Homelink’s backlog may get worse before it gets better, Mr. Shannon said. The organization cannot guarantee all qualified applicants will receive a computer, but since many servicemembers go on repeated overseas deployments, the program may remain a future option for junior-enlisted people and their families to stay in touch.
For more details about eligibility or computer donations, visit the Operation Homelink Web site at www.operationhomelink.org. |
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