News

It was like Christmas at Marine Corps Air Station when Operation Homelink gave out 130 refurbished computers.
Beaufort, South Carolina – January 23, 2008 ( Reported by: Jaime Dailey, WTOC News)

Deploying is never easy for any service member, but through Operation Homelink, one organization is doing their part to help Beaufort Marines and their families during their time apart. It was like Christmas at Marine Corps Air Station today as Operation Homelink gave out 130 refurbished computers to Beaufort Marines and their families who are dealing with a deployment or will be soon.

"It is amazing, you have no idea how it touches more than just me, but the family at home," said Sgt. Patrick Wiley.

Sgt. Wiley will be deploying to Iraq in March and says without this computer, he wouldn't be able to be in communication with his family the way he'd like to. "They'll get to talk to me and email me and see things," said Sgt. Wiley. "I'll send pictures from Iraq and they can see Daddy, where he's at and what he's doing."

While he's away, this technology will allow him to keep up with his children. "They can send pictures to Dad," said Sgt. Wiley. "Dad can show off his kids as they grow up. In six months, he'll be talking and she'll be running faster." This new computer couldn't have come at a better time for Megan Shytle, whose husband is deploying to Iraq in just a few weeks.

"Means we don't have to go during library or the community center hours to be able to talk or email," said Shytle. "I don't have to drag my kids out of the house, we can email all sorts of things during the day and night."

Not only will this computer be more convenient, but Megan says having reliable communication will help ease her mind while he's gone. "Oh it will be so much better to have this communication especially because with the time difference, he works during the day, and that's night and that's when nothing is open," said Wiley.

Knowing how these computers will help these Marines and their families is what the owner and founder of Operation Homelink, Dan Shannon says this mission is all about. "It gives us great comfort to know that we can do this small thing because the bottom line is I personally feel that I owe a debt of gratitude that I can never repay to these people that serve our country,"  he said. Shannon started Operation Homelink about a year after 9-11 and with the help of corporations donating their computers, his organization has been able to refurbish and give away 2,500 computers to families of servicemen and women.

Thirty wounded soldiers received laptops from Operation Homelink and Dell at Darnall Medical Center at Fort Hood, Texas on December 21st, 2007
Washington D.C. – January 7, 2008

Wounded servicemembers at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center on Fort Hood, Texas, recently got some help staying connected with loved ones during their recovery. Operation Homelink, in collaboration with the Dell computer corporation, presented 30 refurbished laptops to wounded soldiers participating in the Army Wounded Warrior Program on Dec. 21.

Thirty wounded soldiers received laptops from Operation Homelink and Dell at Darnall Medical Center at Fort Hood , Texas on Dec. 21 st , 2007.

The Army Wounded Warrior Program serves the most severely wounded, injured or ill soldiers and their families by helping them with their transition back into civilian or military life.

“This means a lot to us,” said laptop recipient Leslie Mansur, a recently retired member of the Army's 4th Infantry Division and a participant in the Army program. “We cannot do our jobs as soldiers if it weren't for the support and faith of the American people and for programs like (Operation Homelink).”

Operation Homelink is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

Having e-mail access during recovery meets soldiers' desires to stay in contact with fellow soldiers and family members, said Dan Shannon, founder and president of Illinois-based Operation Homelink.

Troy West, Vice President of Dell-Federal Sales, presents a laptop to Lesley Mansur, retired member of the 4 th Infantry Division and participant in the Army's Wounded Warrior Program (AW2).

Internet access also allows management of medical and financial matters and provides entertainment, which helps boost morale during extended recovery periods. Laptops provided to the most severely injured soldiers in the program have expanded functionality to run adaptive software and accessories.

“We are extremely grateful for Dell's continuing support of our expanded efforts to support our wounded warriors,” Shannon said. Operation Homelink strives to assist military support programs like Army Wounded Warrior Program by providing refurbished computers, which are donated by sponsors such as Dell.

“Dell has a longstanding relationship with the U.S. military,” said Troy West, vice president of Dell Federal. “We are proud to assist programs like Operation Homelink in providing technology that will help soldiers like those in the Army Wounded Warrior Program to not only keep in touch with family, friends and fellow soldiers, but to also assist in their recovery processes.” Formed in 2003, Operation Homelink also provides desktop computers to families of service members so they can stay in touch with deployed loved ones.

With this latest laptop donation, Operation Homelink has provided more than 100 laptops to wounded service members. To date, the organization has connected more than 2,500 military families through its donations of laptop or desktop computers.

“If we ask our closest family members and dearest friends if they would die for us, we will get many different answers: but a soldier will die for us without being asked,” said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Rickey Tucker, who attended the laptop distribution event. “They do not often hear thanks or praise for their efforts, so it is very much appreciated when organizations like Dell and volunteers from Operation Homelink show how much they value the sacrifices being made on their behalf.”

Operation Homelink and Raytheon Company to Present Computers to 100 Massachusetts National Guard Families
WELLESLEY, Mass. – June 2, 2007

Operation Homelink, an all-volunteer, non-profit organization, in collaboration with Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Company, presented 100 computers to the families of Massachusetts National Guard servicemen and women so that they may inexpensively and reliably communicate with their family members serving overseas.

Operation Homelink enables American service members to connect with their families through e-mail using computers donated by companies such as Raytheon. While most service members have access to e-mail while deployed to remote outposts – including sites throughout Iraq – the situation is often different for their families back home. Troops rely on correspondence from family members during demanding deployments, but the families of many junior enlisted members are often not able to afford computers and must rely on conventional mail or expensive phone calls to stay in touch.

“This is such a fabulous program” said Fiona Canavan who picked up a computer for her mother Bridget Angela Durkin, who will use the computer to communication with her daughter, Specialist Ciara Durkin who is deployed to Afghanistan with the 726 th Finance unit of the Mass. National Guard. “This is invaluable to someone like my mother because now she can receive emails from my sister letting her know that everything is okay. Thank you for helping put my mother's mind at ease.”

“Communication with home is hugely important to those serving overseas.” said Brigadier General Thomas Sellars, Commander Land Component Command, Massachusetts Army National Guard. " On behalf of all of those serving in the Mass. National Guard, thanks to Operation Homelink and Raytheon for providing our families peace of mind.”

With today's donation, Operation Homelink has successfully linked more than 2,400 families with their troops overseas. Spouses or parents of troops within the junior-level pay grades (E1-E5) are eligible to receive the donation. Military support agencies help determine the families that will receive computers. The program has enjoyed great success and has expanded to include donations of laptops to wounded service members receiving treatment at military hospitals throughout the United States .

“Operation Homelink is looking for a few good companies to donate computers so that we can bring those serving our country a little bit closer to home,” said Dan Shannon , founder and president of Operation Homelink. “We appreciate Raytheon's support of our efforts to connect the Guard's families in Massachusetts with their loved ones serving overseas.”

Technology providers to Operation Homelink provide professional refurbishment services and ensure all existing information is wiped clean from computers' hard drives. The computers are then tested, reloaded with a new operating system and software and shipped to the selected unit.

"We congratulate Operation Homelink for its efforts to help families and deployed soldiers stay connected,” said Rebecca Rhoads, vice president and chief information officer, Raytheon Company. “Raytheon shares the commitment to our heroic men and women in uniform and their families. Operation Homelink provides a way for us to combine high tech with high touch for a very worthy cause."

America Supports You: Operation Homelink Marks Milestone
January 16, 2007, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Dept. of Defense Website/ American Forces Press Service

Marking a milestone, Operation Homelink, in collaboration with Dell, presented 250 refurbished computers to families of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force on Jan. 9 at Camp Lejeune, N.C. “With this donation, Operation Homelink has now connected over 2,000 military families,” Dan Shannon, founder and president of Operation Homelink, said. Operation Homelink is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program highlighting ways Americans support the nation's servicemembers. While most servicemembers have access to e-mail while deployed at remote outposts, the families of many junior enlisted members are often not able to afford computers and must rely on conventional mail or expensive phone calls to stay in touch, Shannon said. Operation Homelink strives to link American servicemembers deployed overseas with their families through e-mail communication. To achieve that goal the organization distributes refurbished computers donated by sponsors such as Dell, Inc. “We so appreciate Dell's continuing support of our efforts to connect military families with their loved ones serving overseas,” Shannon said. Operation Homelink's technology partner, NewMarketIT of Austin, Texas, provides professional refurbishment services including testing, registration, loading of a new operating system, software and links to military support Web sites. Computers are shipped in bulk to specific military units or geographic areas as designated by the donating corporation. The families of the 2nd MEF were very appreciative to have an easy, inexpensive way to communicate with their deployed loved ones. “This means a lot to us,” Jamie Lopez, whose husband, Purple Heart recipient Sgt. Richard Lopez Jr., recently left for his fourth deployment with the 6th Marine Regiment, said. “Before, we had to go to the library to e-mail my husband. Now we can do so from home. This will make a huge difference.” Unit officials agreed that the donation would, indeed, make a huge difference. “The Marines and sailors of 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force appreciate the efforts of Operation Homelink in supporting our families, especially during this time of war,” Lt. Col. Curtis L. Hill, public affairs officer for 2nd MEF, said. “The computers being provided will greatly facilitate our families' contact with their deployed loved ones.” In the past year, Dell has joined with Operation Homelink to successfully connect more than 800 military families through the donations of refurbished computers. Those computers were presented to families at Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Bragg, N.C., and Fort Campbell, Ky. Additional distributions are planned for later this year. Spouses or parents of deployed servicemembers in the junior-level pay grades of E-1 through E-5 are eligible, Shannon said. Specific families to receive computers are identified by family readiness group leaders. Recent success for the program has enabled the expansion to include donations of laptops to wounded soldiers receiving treatment at military hospitals throughout the United States.

Group Helps Keep Families, Troops Connected
August 29, 2006, Washington, D.C.
By Samantha L. Quigley / American Forces Press Service

The communication gap between military families at Fort Drum, N.Y., and their soon-to-be deployed servicemembers was bridged before it existed, thanks to Operation Homelink. Operation Homelink is a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which spotlights ways the American people and the nation's corporate sector support U.S. servicemembers. The Chicago-based, nonprofit's president and founder, Dan Shannon, was on hand Aug. 23 to help distribute 100 refurbished computers to families at Fort Drum. CDW Government Inc. donated the computers, Shannon said. CDW Government, Inc., is a leading source of information technology solutions to governments, according to a news release. The computers will provide the families, whose servicemembers are preparing to deploy with the Army's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, the means to maintain e-mail contact with their loved one during the deployment, Shannon said. “I can't think of a better place for us to have taken those computers,” Shannon said, explaining that officials at Fort Drum told him most of the servicemembers stationed there are currently deployed. Lisa Wrenn, with help from sons, Kasey, 11, (center), and Kody, 8, carries a computer donated by Operation Homelink on Aug. 23 at Fort Drum, N.Y. Wrenn's husband, Army Spec. William Wrenn, recently deployed with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. Courtesy photo.

Lisa Wrenn, whose husband, Spec. William Wrenn, with the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, was especially appreciative. “The hardest part of deployment is waiting for the calls that might come once or twice a month,” she said in a Homelink news release. “This is huge, not only for contacting my husband, but my Family Readiness Group as well. It will be great for my kids to e-mail their dad.” For some young spouses that deployment is a first. One young woman in particular, made an impression on Shannon, he said. “I spoke with a woman who left her family in Florida recently. She's there by herself, (and) her husband just deployed,” Shannon said. “There's enough anxiety in itself just with him deploying, but then not to be able to communicate with him (is even worse).” Despite the joy the computers brought the recipients, it was an emotional day. “They recently lost some soldiers there,” Shannon said.

Fort Drum families are not the first beneficiaries of Operation Homelink's efforts, Shannon said. Since its inception, the organization has provided 1,500 military families with refurbished computers and the means to communicate with loved ones. This is made possible through corporation's bulk donations of qualified used computers. Each donation must consist of at least 100 desktop or 10 laptop computers with these minimum technology specifications: Pentium III desktops with an 850 MHz processor or Pentium III laptops with a 500 MHz processor, Shannon said. No further monetary donation is required, and the donor can specify which military facility will receive the computers. Often corporations donate practically new equipment, he said. When that's the case, Homelink sells those computers and uses the proceeds to purchase refurbished computers, which fulfill Homelink's goal of providing a means of communication. “Rather than shipping people brand new laptops and sending to 30 families … we would rather sell those and buy refurbished,” Shannon said. “By doing that, we can pay the shipping and all the costs and help out over 100 families.” When the donated computers aren't so new, they are simply refurbished to ensure all existing information is wiped from the hard drives. They're then tested and reloaded with a new operating system and modem and shipped to the designated unit, Shannon said. As much as Homelink would like to entertain individual requests it's not economically feasible, he added. “The economics are such that it's four times more expensive to send out a boxed individual computer than it is to send them as we did to Fort Drum, in bulk” Shannon said. “We also aren't able to accept individual computers from donors, as much as we'd like to. “We need to work in mass quantities for the economy … and efficiency of the process,” he said. That process will allow Homelink to provide computers to families at Fort Carson, Colo., soon, Shannon said. “Then we're working on getting some computers to Fort Hood (Texas) and Camp Lejeune (N.C.) later this year,” he added. The next step is finding an Internet service provider to donate Internet connections for these families, Shannon said. Though he realizes there are companies that provide a certain number of hours of Internet connection at no cost, families are responsible for the charges above and beyond those few hours. “It's something I've been working on, but we haven't made the right connections with the right organization,” he said. “We'd love to have somebody … step up and provide free Internet service for the first deployment, for the 12-month period. “It seems logical to me that those (families) would be loyal customers for the rest of their lives,” he said.

Operation Homelink Selected For 2006 “Newman’s Own” Award
August 11, 2006, Chicago, Illinois

Operation Laptop Receives $5,000 Grant; NewMarket IT Matches Grant, Doubling Refurbished,
Wireless Laptops to be Shipped to Military Medical Centers

Operation Homelink (OHL) announced today that the Fisher House Foundation has selected OHL to receive a 2006 “Newman’s Own Award” with a $5,000 grant for their innovative program “Operation Laptop”.

OHL was one of 12 organizations receiving the award at a presentation at the Pentagon on August 11, 2006. General Peter Pace, the nation’s senior military leader and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, assisted in the presentation. Newman’s Own, Fisher House Foundation, and Military Times Media Group jointly sponsored the award which seeks to reward ingenuity and innovation for volunteer organizations working to improve military quality of life.

OHL is a non-profit organization that provides American service members and their families with refurbished computers to help improve email communication. OHL’s “Operation Laptop” program provides refurbished wireless laptops to military medical centers across the United States.

Dan Shannon, president and founder of OHL described the program. “While shared desktop computing facilities are generally available in military medical facilities, physical impairments do not always allow service members to use desktop computers for extended periods of time. A fixed supply of shared computers also limits the amount of time members can spend on-line,” explained Shannon. “Laptops serve as a link between hospitalized service members, veterans, and their families, allowing them to more easily communicate to those waiting back home and those still serving overseas.”

According to Shannon, the grant will allow Operation Homelink to deliver a total of thirty refurbished laptops computers to Walter Reed, Bethesda and Brooke Medical Centers within two weeks of receiving the award monies. “The $5,000 award from Newman’s Own will be used to purchase the first 15 refurbished, wireless laptops,” explained Shannon. “Our refurbishing partner, NewMarket IT will match the donation, enabling us to provide thirty wireless laptops to the military medical centers.”

Fort Campbell Courier - Free Computers Link Spouses
By Megan Smith
January 12, 2006

Families of Fort Campbell Soldiers will be just a few clicks away from their loved ones overseas after a partnership with Dell Computers and Operation Homelink donated refurbished desktop computers to military families. More than 100 Dell computers were presented to families of junior enlisted Soldiers to enable them to keep in touch with deployed Soldiers Jan. 5 at the Family Resource Center. Operation Homelink is a non-profit organization providing refurbished computers at no cost to families of junior enlisted Soldiers. This is Dell’s third time to partner with Operation Homelink by donating computers in support of the troops. “Operation Homelink contacted us last year to ask us to consider working with them on this type of event,” said Senior Communications Manager of Dell Tennessee Operations Ken Bissell. “We saw it as a great opportunity to give back to our military, and we jumped at the chance. We want to provide a good system to families who need it make sure they have the technology they need to stay in touch with their family members who are deployed.” Each family had to meet certain specifications to receive the free Dell computer, said Family Readiness Group site coordinator Jo Dempsey.

“We split the computers equally amongst the whole division,” Dempsey said. “Each brigade got 10 computers, and then it was up to the rear detachment commander and the Family Readiness Group leaders to identify those families that fit the specifications. Soldiers must be sergeant or below, be deployed and have no computer at home, because what we are attempting to do is allow Soldiers to now have a way to communicate with their spouse by e-mailing. During the wake of Sept. 11, president and founder of Operation Homelink Dan Shannon began his philanthropic efforts in helping military families.

“A little over three years ago, there were more and more stories of units being called up to deploy to the Middle East,” Shannon said.

“I have a tremendous appreciation for those in uniform and seeing images of Soldiers’ saying goodbye to their wives and kids really hit home. My goal is to give a little something back to our Soldiers for the enormous sacrifices they make for my family, my freedom and my country.”

Vice President of Dell’s Nashville Operations Frank Miller said it’s an honor for the Dell organization to be involved in an event supporting military families.

“Dell is committed to our Soldiers and their families and today is a vivid demonstration of that commitment,” Miller said. “This is more than e-mail; it is sustaining critical relationships between fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, and keeping these families close and together when geography is far apart.”

Stacy Hunter, who husband is on his second-term deployment, said she is going to give her computer to her family in Louisiana who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina.

“I’m going to give my family the computer so they can stay in touch with my husband and me,” Hunter said. “I’m pregnant and due in March, so it’s a great feeling to know that I can email my family pictures of the new baby.” Another excited recipient, military spouse Tasha Butler, is grateful to be able to e-mail her husband everyday. “It’s been a real hassle, since I have three kids, to travel across town to use the computer to e-mail my husband,” Butler said. “Now I can e-mail him everyday, and my children can use it for their homework.”