The Ocean County Library in Ocean City, New Jersey has announced its participation in a fundraiser to benefit the national Cell Phones for Soldiers programme. To assist the programme, the library has begun to distribute postage-paid envelopes to its 17 branches so that patrons can ship unwanted cell phones to the Massachusetts based organisation.
Cell Phones for Soldiers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation that collects and resells used cell phones to benefit U.S. soldiers stationed overseas. The organisation sells the donated phones to ReCellular, Inc., which refurbishes and recycles the handsets. For each donated cell phone, a soldier will receive approximately one hour of phone time with family and friends.
Phones accepted through the programme include virtually any make and model, plus accessories, chargers, batteries, Blackberry units, and pagers.
“Americans will replace an estimated 130 million cell phones this year,” said Mike Newman, vice president of ReCellular, “with the majority of phones either discarded or stuffed in a drawer. Most people don’t realize that the small sacrifice of donating their unwanted phones can have a tremendous benefit for a worthy cause like Cell Phone for Soldiers.”
The proceeds collected from the cell phone scheme are used to buy pre-paid phone cards that are given to U.S. military personnel. The organisation was for by Massachusetts siblings Robbie and Brittany Bergquist in 2004 after they heard a tale of a soldier receiving a phone bill totaling several thousand dollars. Since the programme’s inception, approximately $2 million dollars has been raised, which has gone to purchase over 500,000 cards.
For more information, visit cellphonesforsoldiers.com
Source: Toms River Times
|
|
