News
FOR RELEASE:
Wednesday,
November 29, 2006
Contact: Kevin Evanto,
(412) 350-3171

Allegheny County Director of Veterans Services Ron Conley presents representatives of the 99th, 911th and 171st Family Readiness organizations with 29,000 minutes in donated phone cards for area troops stationed overseas.
Onorato Thanks Community for Successful Phone-card & Clothing Drives
Phone-card drive for troops triples last year’s amount

(November 29, 2006)
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato today congratulated and thanked County employees, downtown workers, and others who contributed to two County-sponsored drives.

“This year’s phone-card and clothing drives were tremendously successful thanks to the support and generosity of area residents,” said Onorato. “The phone cards will give our overseas troops the opportunity to speak with loved ones during the holiday season, while the clothing and blankets will help local individuals in need stay warm. Many thanks to our community for making a difference both here and abroad.”

In observance of Veterans Day, Allegheny County collected domestic and international phone cards, which will be given to area Family Readiness organizations for distribution to troops deployed overseas. This year, more than 29,000 phone-card minutes were donated, tripling last year’s total. Over the past three years, Allegheny County has donated 52,000 minutes to area troops. Some phone cards were sent from as far away as California.

“We are extremely grateful to all those who donated phone cards,” said Lt. Col. Don Accamando, 171st Air Refueling Wing Community Manager. “Thanks to their generosity, and with the help of the military Family Readiness representatives in the area, our men and women overseas will be able to spend more than 480 hours on the phone with their loved ones. That makes the distance easier to bear this holiday season.”

The County’s 5th Annual Blanket & Winter Clothing Drive to benefit the Jubilee Association was also a great success. County employees and other downtown workers were asked to donate new and lightly-used blankets and winter clothing before the Thanksgiving holiday.

“We collected 40 bags of blankets and warm clothing for the Jubilee Association,” added Onorato. “The Association will distribute the items to help keep dozens of people warm this winter.”

The Jubilee Association began as a soup kitchen in Downtown Pittsburgh 25 years ago. Today, it continues to serve hot meals year-round and also provides a health clinic, job center, adult education program, child care center and food bank.

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