The Coastal Bank has launched a community-wide initiative to raise money for USO Operation Phone Home, which provides prepaid phone cards for deployed military personnel to call loved ones while away from their families during the holiday season. The Coastal Bank will lead a fundraising campaign for USO Operation Phone Home through Nov. 23.
“It is our hope to put at least one phone card in the hands of every soldier in our area that is deployed during the holidays,” said Tom Wiley, chairman, president and CEO of The Coastal Bank. “We are so grateful for their selfless sacrifice and service to our nation, and this campaign is a way for us to express our thanks to our brave troops.”
Members of the public are invited to join The Coastal Bank and the USO in connecting deployed soldiers from the Coastal Empire and the Lowcountry to their loved ones during the holidays.
A $5 donation with a personalized message will provide a soldier with a phone card to call home. Cards will be given in December to deployed members of the U.S. Army, Army National Guard, Air National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Naval Reserve.
Anyone donating $5 or more to The Coastal Bank’s USO Operation Phone Home initiative will be entered into a drawing to win a year of free Chick-fil-A (one free sandwich per week for one year). Two winners will be announced at the conclusion of the campaign in November.
Members of the public can buy a card online at www.phonehomesav.com or visit The Coastal Bank at 101 W. Hendry St. to make a donation to USO Operation Phone Home.
In 2010, The Coastal Bank raised enough money to provide 140,000 minutes of talk time, or 1,400 phone cards total, to local troops during the holiday season.
“Through our combined efforts and our extended reach with even more community sponsors this year, our goal is to exceed last year’s campaign,” said Mitchell Bush, president of USO of Georgia-Savannah. “With the help of Savannah’s generous spirit, we know we can reach that goal.”