Published: December 19, 2006 11:21 pm      

U.S. Cellular gives free holiday calls to several Beckley homeless

They might not have homes to call from, but they likely have homes to call to. They are local homeless people, and on Tuesday, U.S. Cellular let residents of the Pine Haven Homeless Shelter in Beckley call friends and family for free.

“We wanted to help make the holidays a little brighter for the homeless,” said Alicia Ellis, retail store manager of the Beckley, Fayetteville and Summersville locations of U.S. Cellular.

Ellis admitted the Christmas gift from U.S. Cellular was an interesting way to raise awareness about the homeless.

“The homeless shelter is only about 3 miles from our U.S. Cellular store,” Ellis said. “We know it’s there and want others in the community to know it’s there and remember them on Christmas.”

Brenda Karnes, a Pine Haven resident from Princeton, said the holiday gesture from U.S. Cellular was much appreciated.

“It was a nice surprise,” she said. “I was able to call my mother and wish her a Merry Christmas. She worries about me, and this was a chance to let her know I was OK.”

Ellis said U.S. Cellular brought various types of wireless telephones to the shelter and residents could make free long-distance calls, anywhere in the world, as part of the initiative.

U.S. Cellular officials were at the shelter from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to give all the residents enough time to make their calls.

“If someone wasn’t home, they could call back a little later,” Ellis said. “We wanted to make sure they were able to reconnect with friends and family during the holiday season.”

This was the second year U.S. Cellular had done this type of program, and Ellis expects it to continue.

“It has gone so well and everyone really enjoyed it last year,” she said. “I think we will continue it each year. We care, and we wanted them to know that we care.”

Andy Austin, case management supervisor at the shelter, said U.S. Cellular brought a lot of holiday cheer to the facility.

“It’s heart-warming to see U.S. Cellular carry forth this community outreach,” he said. “Connecting our residents with their families and loved ones through free holiday calls is a wonderful example of the way we touch lives with technology. It is a great Christmas gift. We applaud their efforts and say thank you very much from all of us.”

— E-mail: fpace@ register-herald.com