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U.S. Cellular offers way to phone home Homeless and underprivileged people in the Medford area will get a chance to call friends and family on someone else's dime for Thanksgiving. U.S. Cellular will provide free long-distance calls from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Medford Gospel Mission at 125 W. Jackson St. Company employees will bring at least a half-dozen cellular phones and help people make calls to loved ones anywhere in the continental United States. There won't be specific time limits, though efforts will be made to ensure fairness. "We want to make sure that as many people as possible get to make phone calls," says company spokeswoman Linda Mounts. U.S. Cellular launched its Homeless Outreach Phone Effort, or HOPE, in 1993. This is the second year it has been done in Medford. The company plans similar campaigns this year in Klamath Falls, Bend, Roseburg, Ukiah, Calif., and Eureka, Calif. Mounts says the program gives homeless people a chance to speak to friends and relatives they may have lost contact with for years, which can lead to emotional conversations. "It's put more than one U.S. Cellular employee in tears," she says. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA