Sport Clips is making it possible for soldiers to call home this holiday season through an $80,000 gift to the Veterans of Foreign War’s (VFW) Operation Uplink Program. Operation Uplink is a VFW program that keeps military personnel and hospitalized veterans in touch with their families and loved ones.
At a check presentation in the VFW’s Texas Headquarters Tuesday, Sport Clips founder and CEO Gordon Logan, himself a Veteran, said, ‘I know how important it is to hear the voices of loved ones when you are overseas for months at a time. It’s our honor and privilege to make this a holiday gift for those who are selflessly serving our country.’
2 people who attended the news conference provided meaningful testimonials to the program’s effectiveness. ‘Phone cards from Operation Uplink allow my husband, Col. Gregory Maxton, who is stationed at Fort Hood, but who has been in Iraq for a year, to call home more often,’ said Karen Maxton, of Fort Hood, who attended the presentation. She notes that the Army offers weekly ‘morale’ calls, but soldiers have to wait in line and the calls are limited to 15 minutes. Maxton said, ‘These cards mean our 8-year-old twins get to hear from their Dad more often.’
Sgt. Joseph Meller with the Texas Army National Guard said the cards allowed him to call home more often while deployed, especially when he found out a week after leaving that his wife was pregnant. ‘When other soldiers had any extra minutes left on their Operation Uplink phone cards, they often gave them to me!,’ Sgt. Meller remembers about calling home to check on his family.
Phone calls just like these will be taking place from military bases oversees this holiday season through the money raised by almost 500 Sport Clips locations throughout the country. The heart of the work to put Sport Clips franchises behind the Operation Uplink effort came from the company’s headquarters in Georgetown, Texas. Stores across the country were encouraged to participate in a cut-a-thon called ‘The Biggest Haircut Day of the Year,’ Veterans’ Day, Sunday, November 11, and donate a $1 from each haircut service, as well as change from special collection cans…
Joe Grossi on December 12th, 2007 at 2:04 am
Gordan Logan and Sport Clips are “paying it forward” to our troops and understand and appreciate the sacrafice they and their Families have to endure, especially during the Christmas Holiday season. God-Speed Gordan . . . and THANK-YOU from this Veteran on a job well done. Hooaah!!!