Staff reports
TIFTON — A local drive to provide military personnel serving overseas with cell phones is asking for Tifton residents’ help.
Locally, Stafford hotels, including the local Holiday Inn and Hilton Garden Inn, are supporting the effort.
More than 150,000 troops are serving overseas and are away from their families. People can donate their unused cell phones to “Cell Phones for Soldiers” by dropping them off at the Holiday Inn at 1208 U.S. Highway 82 W. or the Hilton Garden Inn at 201 Boo Drive.
“Over the past few years, we have been amazed by the generosity of others. But, we have also seen the need to support our troops continue,” said Brittany Bergquist, co-founder of the program. “It is easy for Americans to make a small sacrifice of support by donating their unused cell phones and provide families with much-needed connection to their loved ones overseas.”
“We’re proud to show our support of U.S. soldiers and to contribute to worthy causes like Cell Phones for Soldiers,” said Stafford Hospitality’s regional director, Kathleen Moore.
Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass. With $21 of their own money, the pair registered the organization as a 501c3 non-profit organization and have raised almost $1 million in donations and distributed more than 500,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas.
The Bergquist family hopes to raise more than $9 million in the next five years to fund new programs such as providing video phones and prepaid service to allow soldiers abroad to see their families on a regular basis.
Donated phones are sent to ReCellular, which pays the organization for each phone, enough to provide an hour of talk time to soldiers abroad.
Approximately half of the phones ReCellular processes are reconditioned and resold to wholesale companies in over 40 countries around the world. Phone and components that cannot be refurbished are dismantled and recycled to reclaim materials, including gold, silver and platinum from circuit boards; copper wiring from phone chargers; nickel, iron, cadmium and lead from battery packs; and plastic from phone cases and accessories.
