Google Voice is one of my favorite mobile services. Since I’m constantly switching phones and in between numbers, it helps to have the one number that all my friends, family and acquaintances to hang onto regardless of which phone I’m using. For the holidays, Google has decided to offer $10 of Google Voice credit to military families so they can keep in touch during this special time of year.
How much time will it buy for these families? Google lays it all out here:
These international call credits can be used to make calls with Google Voice or from right inside Gmail, and will provide families with roughly 30 minutes of call time to Afghanistan, 60 minutes to Iraq, or hundreds of minutes to many countries in Europe and around the world.
Perhaps 30 to 60 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but for those with loved ones that have been deployed, it could be more than they were asking for. My cousin, who was a combat medic in the Air Force for eight years, was only able to keep in touch with our family whenever he could get onto instant messenger when Internet access was available. So major kudos to Google for offering this credit for the holidays.
But it isn’t all Google for this one as Blue Star Families and Sesame Street helped make this possible, too.
If you’re interested in getting in touch with your friends or family deployed overseas, here’s how you can do it:
- Be a member of either Blue Star Families or Sesame Street Family Connections — registration is free for all military families
- Provide their Gmail address
- Enable calling in Gmail and accept the terms of service OR have an existing Google Voice account
- Complete this registration form by December 22, 2010
Seems simple enough, especially since registration to either of those organizations is free. Happy Holidays!
[Via: Google]