Senator Bill Larkin (R-C, Cornwall-on-Hudson) today announced that his district office at 1093 Little Britain Rd, New Windsor will serve as a collection site for the Cell Phone For Soldiers project.
The Cell Phones for Soldiers project began in April 2004 by 13-year-old Brittany Bergquist and her 12-year-old brother Robbie of Norwell, Massachusetts. So far, their non-profit organization has raised almost $1 million in donations and distributed more than 400,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas.
The phones are sent to ReCellular, which pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone – enough to provide an hour of talk time to soldiers abroad.
Americans are expected to replace an estimated 130 million cell phones this year. The majority of those phones are thrown in the trash or stuffed in a drawer. 'We could turn those old unwanted cell phones into more than 12 million minutes of prepaid calling cards for U.S. troops stationed overseas in 2008 alone,' said Senator Larkin.
Anyone interested in donating an old cell phone can then download a tax deductible receipt from cellphonesforsoldiers.com. Be sure to also include the battery and any accessories.
'Private citizens and companies like Lockheed Martin have already given me hundreds of old used cell phones to donate for our troops overseas,' said Senator Larkin. 'Because of your generosity, soldiers stationed all over the globe will be given a phone card so they can keep in touch with loved ones back home. So, keep them coming. I can’t think of a better way to lift the spirits of our dedicated fighting men and women while they are serving.'
