In the past, when a loved one was deployed, family members had to resort to letter writing to stay in touch. Today, keeping in touch may be as close as the click of your mouse button. Instead of letter writing, email communication has enabled military families to stay connected. However, what is a family to do when their loved one is deployed and those left behind don’t have access to a computer?

This is where Operation Home Link comes to the Rescue. Operation Home Link is a certified 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that provides free computers to the family members (spouses and parents) of deployed military personnel. Large companies donate the computers when they no longer have any use for them. Operation Home Link doesn’t distribute the computers on an individual basis, but rather donates them to bases when units are being deployed.

Operation Home Link provides a computer for those who have the lowest pay grade, E1-E5. They have found support from many top-of- the line companies, including Dell and Mastercard. However, Operation Home Link doesn’t accept individual computer donations. They work on a large scale and collect a minimum of 100 computers at a time. Currently, they are focusing on obtaining laptops in order to distribute them to wounded soldiers. Operation Home Link also has specific qualifications for the hardware of each computer. Specifically, they are looking for Pentium III laptops with a processor of at least a minimum of 800 MHZ. Due to the technical specifications required for each computer it is more beneficial for individuals to contact large corporations that are willing to donate their computers on a greater scale, than for individuals to donate computers on their own.

Members of deployed family members state how important it is that they have received these computers. Being able to communicate with their loved ones via email versus letter writing or by telephone, improves the morale of the soldiers and helps children, parents, and spouses cope with the separation that deployment entails.

Operation Home Link has already provided computers to over 2,400 families. Their efforts have not been without reward either. Just recently, they were recognized by President Bush, and Operation Home Link’s founder and president, Dan Shannon was invited to the White House for a special meeting that honored the efforts of grass root organizations that support our troops.

You may not be the head of a large corporation, and may not have hundreds of computers to donate, but if you have the time and have participated in any type of fund raising events, you may find that you would like to be involved. Your best choice is to visit their site at: http://www.operationhomelink.org you can also contact them by email, which is a preferred source of contact. There email address is: contact@operationhomelink.com

If you have no other way to contribute, yet you want to support the efforts made by Operation Home Link, you can always donate money to their cause. You will find links on their website where you can make your donations.