Giving Speech for the Holidays

FreedomVOICE Systems, a licensed telecommunications carrier specializing in virtual office and hosted telephone solutions to support small businesses,  is providing discounted services and its  TalkText voice-to-text technology to Pennsylvania Families’ and Children’s Equality (PA FACE), a non-profit organization advocating children’s rights during divorces and separations.

To help PA FACE achieve its goals, FreedomVOICE is providing a toll-free vanity phone number and its hallmark FreedomXTREME voice system, featuring auto attendant, multiple mailboxes, email delivery of voice and fax messages, and a slate of other tools that allow small businesses to enhance their image and stay connected with customers and colleagues. Two optional features are also included in the PA FACE configuration: Name/Address capture that provides names and addresses of incoming calls, and voice-to-text transcription. Named TalkText, FreedomVOICE officials dub it "the evolution of voicemail."

"With locations throughout the state and a small number of volunteers, our ability to respond to voicemail messages left on our hotline is severely limited," said David Nelson, president of the Bucks County chapter of PA FACE, in a statement. "We receive over 100 messages a month. Volunteers have to transcribe content from each, including, where possible, name, address and phone number, scribbling furiously or rewinding and listening again. We have tested TalkText and are extremely excited about this time-saving new technology from FreedomVOICE."

With the FreedomVOICE tools in place, callers dial the toll-free vanity number for PA FACE and leave a voicemail message. As a standard feature of the voice system, messages are sent as audio files attached to emails, allowing volunteers to check for messages from any Internet-connected computer. With the addition of TalkText, they can also read the transcription of the voicemail in the body of the email. The Name/Address capture provides full contact details as part of the message, whether the caller leaves the information or not, and can be copied and pasted into the PA FACE database.

"Our volunteers can read through their voicemail messages in a fraction of the time it took them to listen," Nelson added in the same release. "They can respond more quickly, often directly by email. Another benefit is that we can save these messages and refer back to them as needed. The FreedomVOICE system allows us to become more organized with our messages. We are extremely grateful for the help FreedomVOICE has given our cause."

FreedomVOICE CEO and Founder, Eric Thomas, was quick to respond. "We are proud to help PA FACE with their communications needs. With the number of marriage dissolutions each year in this country, anything we can do to alleviate the stress on children and promote equal parenting responsibility is an honor," he said in a statement.