A silent American tragedy finds a voice on JoeOnTheMove’s 1.5 million member Facebook group.
Chicago, Illinois (February 12, 2010) - Their stories are larger than life, more gripping than movie box office hits and yet a silent American tragedy at the same time. Deployed U.S. troops and their families are victims of the recession and bad government policies that prevent countless thousands of offshore soldiers from being able to call their loved ones for free. JoeOnTheMove has grown to over 1.5 million Facebook members in just 8 months and their team is on a crusade to rectify this injustice.
1. Contact: Larry Thorpe
NEWS RELEASE: Co-founder JoeOnTheMove
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE www.causes.com/joeonthemove
www.joeonthemove.com
Phone: (800) 300-6177
Email: larryt@joeonthemove.com
Untold Heart Moving Stories from U.S. Troops
A silent American tragedy finds a voice on JoeOnTheMove’s 1.5 million member Facebook
group.
Chicago, Illinois (February 12, 2010) - Their stories are larger than life, more gripping than
movie box office hits and yet a silent American tragedy at the same time. Deployed U.S. troops
and their families are victims of the recession and bad government policies that prevent countless
thousands of offshore soldiers from being able to call their loved ones for free. JoeOnTheMove
has grown to over 1.5 million Facebook members in just 8 months and their team is on a crusade
to rectify this injustice.
$787 billion dollars was set aside in 2009 for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
$686 billion was budgeted for 2010’s military appropriation bill. Yet Chris Snider is one of
millions of family members that do not see a penny of help when it comes to talking to their
loved ones deployed for service protecting the United States’ safety and freedom. “I want to hear
my husband’s voice. It kills me everyday not to hear my best friend’s voice. If I could have just
five minutes without worrying about a penny for every second I would cherish it”.
JoeOnTheMove’s Facebook cause group is a phenomena that has swelled in growth as members
share their story of struggle, loss, pain and mourning. Their common cause is raising awareness
and donations to give deployed troops free calls home.
Carol Ann Howard shared, “having had a son killed in Iraq, it would have been a blessing to
have heard from him more. Let’s band together to get this done [free phone calls for soldiers] for
all the families that are still there.”
“I just paid $700 for talking to my husband overseas and my mother in-law paid $800 for talking
to her son. Soldiers should be able to call as much as possible to talk their families and
supporters” says Melissa Mcclellan. It’s an outrage that this burden of cost falls back on families
when over 1.47 trillion dollars is in circulation for just 2 government budgets.
“My son Lance is stationed in Afghanistan. During his deployment he was there when his
platoon leader and squad leader were killed. These men were his good friends. He had to call his
family on his dime. Why can’t we spend money on our soldiers who are protecting our own
country???”, shares Sany Erman.
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Amanda Zimmer who is on active duty put in a request, “I know how hard it is to not be able to
call home like I wanted to. Please help our troops. All the support from family and friends is
needed greatly for the troops to continue fighting for our freedom”.
As Valentines Day quickly approaches Sandy Stack posted the following on JoeOnTheMove’s
Facebook page, “On Monday my husband’s company left for Iraq. I got my first phone call from
my husband this morning before I left for work. It was the best thing I could have ever gotten.
Just to hear his voice and know that he is safe and to hear the words ‘I love you’ was priceless.”
JoeOnTheMove has become a rallying point for a silent American tragedy of families that cannot
talk to their loved ones on tour for free. More stories and Facebook supporter comments can be
found in their Operation Valentines eBooklet at http://bit.ly/9QkapL which commemorates over
30 powerful posts members have made.
In the days leading up to the one day of the year where people make a special effort to
demonstrate how much they care, JoeOnTheMove has launched fundraiser Operation Valentines
Connection. 100% of donations will go to free minutes for soldiers. Donations can be made at
www.joeonthemove.com. On July 4, 2009 JoeOnTheMove ws able to donate 1 million free
minutes to soldiers. Their goal is to surpass this milestone by February 14, 2010.
About JoeOnTheMove
JoeOnTheMove was founded in 2008 and raises donated funds and offers purchase programs for
highly competitively priced digital phone cards at http://www.JoeOnTheMove.com. As
deployments grow longer and more frequent, soldiers are feeling the stress of separation. This
has become evident in the record high numbers of soldier PTSD, depression and suicide reported
worldwide. JoeOnTheMove’s service helps bring peace of mind, emotional support and
motivation to a lonely soldier. Their mission is to put our cause on the front pages of
newspapers, primetime news and in the awareness of Americans. 2009’s recession has crippled
many families and impaired their ability to talk to valiant troops that risk their lives to provide us
Liberty and Safety. JoeOnTheMove is taking action and helping families talk to their heroes
through fundraising and purchased services.
Press Release Provided By:
Sol Solutions, an Integrated Marketing Consultancy
President, Andrew Ballenthin
Media contacts by email only – andrew@solsolutions.ca
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