DAPHNE, Ala.— Freedom isn’t free—nor is making a long-distance call overseas to a U.S. Army base. But Prudential Nichols Real Estate for a day can help with the latter, with its second annual “Operation Freedom Calls,” which allows families of soldiers stationed in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan to speak via videophone with their deployed loved ones; images from the videophone are projected onto a giant screen.

Calls are scheduled for every half hour starting at 8 a.m. at the Prudential Nichols office, 6351 Monroe Drive on the west side of U.S. Highway 98; the program will last until every family member present speaks with their displaced loved one, according to a news release.

The program, set for Sunday, reaches out to servicemen and women located at eight U.S. Army bases: Camps Taji, Fallujah, Taqaddum, Victory and Al Asad Air base in Iraq; Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Saleem Air base in Kuwait; and Bagram Air field in Afghanistan.

The event will also serve as a fundraiser for the Freedom Calls Foundation. A goal of $5,000 has been set, according to John B. Harlow II, executive director of Freedom Calls Foundation.

It costs the foundation almost $1,000 per day to run the network involved in making the calls possible, according to Melissa Hoffman, Prudential Nichols marketing director.

The Freedom satellite network connects to Freedom Calls facilities situated in American military camps in Iraq under the authority of the Department of the Army and the Marines.

Currently, the foundation has four sites in Iraq with 50 computers and 20 telephones at Camp Taji, just north of Baghdad in the Sunni Triangle.

Video conferencing capabilities are also in place at Camps Fallujah and Victory and Al Asad Air base in Baghdad.

Deidre Skinner, mother of Cpl. Cameron Skinner—her only son and a U.S. Marine stationed in Al Asad, Iraq—is just one of many family members planning to make the most of Operation Freedom Calls.

Deidre Skinner will travel all the way to Daphne from Bluffton, S.C. to ‘see’ her son for the first time since he was deployed.

Tears of joy in anticipation of Sunday’s call streamed down her face as she thanked Operation Freedom Calls and Prudential Nichols for providing this invaluable service.

“Oh my goodness, I am so excited and thankful,” she said. “I can’t believe there are people in the world that would care enough about people like Cam and me to provide a special event for Christmas.

“He’s so far away and we don’t have the funds to do it on our own.”

Cameron Skinner enlisted in April 2006 and deployed to Iraq in July 2007.

“I haven’t seen him since July 20 of last year,” she said. “This is more important than anything in the whole world.”

The Marriott Grand Hotel has donated Deidre Skinner’s accommodations and Prudential Nichols is working on funding her airline ticket.

This is the second year that Prudential Nichols is offering this service to the public.

“Our last event, just prior to Christmas last year, made each of us here at Prudential Nichols have a very strong desire to continue offering this service as regularly as possible.

“It was so overwhelming and provided an indescribable experience for our volunteers and the military families involved,” Hoffman said. “(Last year’s) event left everyone speechless.

“We witnessed a mother introducing their infant daughter to her father for the first time, children and families sharing the opening of Christmas gifts with loved ones overseas and so very much more.

The service helped 16 families that day; Prudential Nichols hopes to double the number this year.

So, why Freedom Calls?

“We wanted to do something different and reach people that were not already being reached by other charitable causes in the area,” Hoffman said. “These families with deployed soldiers give so very much of themselves and sacrifice so very much over the holiday season and everyday as well.

“There are certain things in life that you do that remind you of the way things are supposed to be in this world, and this is one of them.”

Naval officer Toby Lorge participated in last year’s event and was overjoyed to interact with his newborn daughter.

“I was able to see my daughter Corinne Michaela for the first time,” Lorge said. “It brought so much joy and happiness. It meant so much to me because I had only seen her through pictures.”

“We wanted to let them know that they were not forgotten and the sacrifices they were making were appreciated by their community and that we supported them during these tough times while their loved ones were so far away,” Hoffman said.

If a family member is not stationed at one of the eight bases listed in the program’s itinerary, he or she can commute and still participate, according to a news release.

Many of the base camps serve as supply hubs to smaller, outlying camps.

Call 626-2030 to find out if Operation Freedom Calls can reach a deployed loved one.