COVINGTON, Ga. — PureTalk and ForgiveCo have partnered together to start a new campaign aimed to relieve $10 million in debt for military men and women. 

To kick off the debt relief campaign, PureTalk — a nationwide cell phone service provider with its headquarters at 11100 Alcovy Road in Covington — hosted an employee and community event on Sept. 27. 

Clint Romesha serves as the brand ambassador for the campaign and spoke during the Sept. 27 event. He believes such a campaign can be beneficial all around. 

“For people willing to donate their money and stuff is great, but it’s that time and effort that people are giving as well. It’s something you can never get back. That is the most precious gift somebody can give is their time and effort,” Romesha told The Covington News. “To see this come together, not just as a debt relief, but as a rallying cry with our nation. There’s so many great patriots out there and they may never put that uniform on, but they still want to serve their country. This gives them that opportunity to do one in the same.” 

Romesha is a former combat veteran, former staff sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his exceptional bravery and honor during the 12-hour Battle of Kamdesh in the War in Afghanistan. He also sits on the board of directors for America’s Warrior Partnership (AWP), an organization dedicated to preventing veteran suicide.

Will Curry, PureTalk’s chief strategy officer, formed the connection with Romesha for this particular occasion.

“I asked, ‘Would you like to be a brand ambassador for PureTalk where we can go and do more things with the power of our customer base and the power of our marketing to do some real impactful things for the Veteran community?’” Curry said. “He was all over it.” 

On top of that, Curry emphasized that this campaign is “the first of many things” PureTalk plans to bring Romesha in as an ongoing ambassador. 

The campaign coincides with PureTalk joining the nation in commemorating Veterans Day and National Veterans and Military Families Month in November. 

With this partnership, ForgiveCo plans to use the industry knowledge it has to provide financial support to those in need. PureTalk will relieve the debt of 6,500-plus veterans by way of its ForgiveCo relationship. 

No application is necessary and it will be done through PureTalk’s “random act of kindness” model. ForgiveCo will also ensure derogatory collection accounts are removed from the beneficiary’s credit report, according to a press release. 

Being a spokesperson for such an occasion was a no-brainer for Romesha. 

“PureTalk keeps things simple, and its values of family and freedom are what make it a provider you can trust,” Romesha said in a press release. “I am proud to partner with an organization that not only provides jobs for hard-working Americans, but one that puts its money where its mouth is through financial support for the men and women who serve our country.”

Sept. 27’s kickoff event was deemed a triumph by both Romesha and Curry. 

Representatives from PureTalk’s call center and warehouse attended. PureTalk’s chief financial officer was present along with Covington Police Department’s interim chief, Phillip Bradford. Various veterans from the community were in attendance as well. 

During the event, Romesha spoke for approximately 12 minutes. He shared about his experience in the war in Afghanistan after 9/11 occurred. 

It was at that moment that Curry realized something special was taking place.

“No matter where they came from or their background, everyone was locked in on Clint, nodding their heads and eyes were as big as golf balls,” Curry said. “That’s when I knew the event was a success. I was really happy that my employees and the community members could listen to a guy like Clint tell a story. 

“It was pretty inspiring.”