Satellite Telework Centers Teams with Freedom Calls Foundation to Offer Free Videoconferencing to Santa Cruz County Military Families

July 30, 2009, Felton California – Satellite Telework Centers has teamed with the Freedom Calls Foundation to offer local military families free use of the Satellite’s videoconferencing system to speak with loved ones serving in Iraq and Kuwait.

Freedom Calls operates call centers at five military camps in Iraq and Kuwait and conducts upward of 2,000 videoconference events a month, connecting service members to their families in the United States, England, Germany, Guam and Japan.

“Soldiers and their families run up huge phone bills staying in touch with each other during deployments,” said Satellite CEO Barbara Sprenger. “We view this as a small contribution to help local families stay in touch with their loved ones overseas.”

Freedom Calls Executive Director and founder John Harlow said he started the organization in 2003 after seeing a television story about a National Guardsman who had run up a $7,000 phone bill speaking to his family from Iraq.

“I learned that it’s not uncommon for troops to see extraordinarily high phone bills,” Harlow said. “With calling rates of up to 44 cents a minute, soldiers are spending more than $100 million annually to stay in touch with their families back home.”

In addition to raising corporate money to build the videoconferencing centers, Harlow and his staff use corporate donations to pay for satellite time required to connect the calls.

“The foundation is transforming a long-standing family communication paradigm in time of war by enabling soldiers in the war zone to attend and participate in milestone family events like weddings, first communions, births and day to day life,” Harlow said. “Soldiers may now keep their commitments to their families at the same time that they keep their commitment to their country.”

“The long-term vision of the Freedom Calls Foundation is that our war fighters will be able to come home from a day on the battlefield and spend virtual time with their families every night using state-of-the-art technology,” Harlow said. “The contribution of resources by community citizens like Satellite Telework Centers enables the foundation to fulfill its mission.”

Freedom Calls operates videoconferencing centers at Arifjan, Kuwait and Al Asad, Taji, Taqaddum and Baharia in Iraq.

Santa Cruz families interested in scheduling a videoconference should contact Jim Graham, Director of Marketing for The Satellite, at 831.234.4337 or 831-222-2100.

About Freedom Calls Foundation
The Freedom Calls Foundation is a 501(c)3 Public Charity which has built a satellite network dedicated to providing state of the art video conferencing, telephone and internet services to enable our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep in touch with their families and loved ones at home, free of charge. The Foundation provides services to more than 60,000 soldiers, Marines and airmen free of charge 24 hours per day, including more than 2,000 enterprise class video conferences from homes, hospitals and churches every month. The Army has requested that the foundation install eight additional facilities in Iraq and two in Afghanistan in the coming months. The Foundation is authorized by the Secretary of the Army to provide communications services to the troops and their families and recently received a Commendation from the Army, a personal letter of appreciation from Major General Taguba and personal thanks from President Bush at the White House. The Freedom Calls Foundation is supported solely by donations of corporations and the American people on the foundation’s website www.freedomcalls.org. Freedom Calls is the 2008 recipient of The Newman’s Own Award for the most innovative charitable service in support of military families.

About Satellite Telework Centers
Satellite Telework Centers provides membership-based professional, connected workspace in home neighborhoods for commuters, consultants, home-based businesses and entrepreneurs, including private offices, conferences rooms, workstations, open space and The Watercooler. The first Satellite is in Felton, California, and founders intend to expand the company with Satellites throughout California. For more information, contact 831.222.2100 or visit http://www.thesatellliteinc.com .