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Bob Bergquist - father

The Cell Phones for Soldiers program was started in April 2004 by 13-yr old Brittany Bergquist and her 12-yr old brother Robbie of Norwell, Mass. with $21 of their own money. 

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Bob Bergquist - father

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  1. The Cell Phones for Soldiers program was started in April 2004 by 13-yr old Brittany Bergquist and her 12-yr old brother Robbie of Norwell, Mass. with $21 of their own money.  • Brittany and Robbie’s goal is to help our soldiers serving overseas call home. They hope to provide as many soldiers as possible with prepaid calling cards.

  2. In April 2004, at just 13 yrs old, Brittany heard a news story about an American soldier stuck with a $7,000 cell phone bill he received by communicating with his family while he was serving in the Middle East. Struck with heartache, Brittany launched Cell Phones for Soldiers, Inc., a nonprofit organization that offers thousands of troops the opportunity to keep in close contact with their loved ones.

  3. Bob Bergquist - father • “Cell Phones for Soldiers started as a small way to show our family’s appreciation for the men and women who have sacrificed the day-to-day contact with their own families to serve in the U.S. armed forces,” says the teens’ father. • In the next five years, the Bergquist family hopes to raise more than $9 million to fund new programs, including providing video phones with prepaid service that allow soldiers to see their families while talking to them.

  4. Cell Phones for Soldiers (CPFS) collects used cell phones through more than 10,000 drop-off sites and sends them to ReCellular, a cell phone recycling company that pays CPFS for each donated phone. CPFS then uses the funds from recycling to send prepaid phone cards to troops serving at military bases and recuperating in hospitals, giving them the opportunity to connect with their families and feel closer to home.

  5. ReCellular • The collected phones are sent to ReCellular, which pays CPFS enough to provide an hour of talk time per phone to soldiers abroad. • “Americans will replace an estimated 150 million cell phones this year,” says Mike Newman, vice president of ReCellular, “with the majority of phones either discarded or stuffed in a drawer. Most people don’t realize that they can make a small sacrifice of donating their unwanted or broken phones and that their actions can have a tremendous benefit for a worthy cause.”

  6. Since 2004, CPFS has collected more than 2.5 million cell phones and currently collects an average of 50,000 cell phones per month. In addition to providing 550,000 prepaid phone cards (33 million minutes) to soldiers, recycling used phones has the added benefit of keeping tons of toxic waste and chemicals found in the old cell phones out of our landfills and water supplies.

  7. Each year, ReCellular expects to recycle 1 million pounds of scrap phones and accessories. ReCellular works with recycling partners to reclaim materials from every phone that is donated, including: • • Gold, silver and platinum from circuit boards • • Copper wiring from phone chargers • • Nickel, iron, cadmium and lead from battery packs • • Plastic from phone cases and accessories • • Paper and cardboard from shipping materials used for donations

  8. FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions • Q. Is this a non-profit 501(c)(3) company? • A. Yes. Non-profit means that the company does not distribute its funds $$to owners, but instead uses them to help pursue its goals. • Q. What types of cell phones do they want? • A. They accept any type of cell phone, case and chargers. (even broken cell phones). • Q. What do they do with the cell phones? •  A. The cell phones are sold to a company that recycles them. The money received for the phones is used to purchase calling cards that are sent to • our soldiers serving over seas and confined to hospitals. • Q. Do they send any cell phones to the soldiers? •  A. No. Most of the cell phones that are received are not able to work in the Middle East. In addition, for security reasons, they cannot send a cell phone directly to a US soldier serving in a war zone.

  9. What if it was your…

  10. How can I help? • Look around at home for old cell phones, chargers and cases. • Ask friends or family members if they will donate their old or broken phones. • Bring the items to school and place them in the CPFS box located in Mrs. Harry’s room. • Spread the word to family and friends and know that you are helping the troops that are fighting for us.

  11. Update • Last school year, Americus-Sumter PLC collected 41 cell phones and 40 chargers during the Cell Phones for Soldiers project. Due to the donations from teachers and students we were able to contribute at least 41 hours of free talk time to our US troops.

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