It doesn't matter if you're for the war or against it. The bottom line is that men and women from the United States are deployed within conflict areas around the world. Many of them struggle to keep in touch with their loved ones back in the States...

This is where Cell Phones for Soldiers comes in...

This charity was founded by a couple of 13-year olds that realized the importance of keeping in touch with family in times of conflict and in peace.

You can support this charity by clicking on the link above and sending your old and still functioning cellular phones to the charity. To make it even easier, they will pay the postage (but, paying for your own postage will help the organization even more). Once they receive your old phone, it's resold to a recylcing facility (these are the phones that you'll see in your local 'Quicky Mart' many times). They then utilize this financial resource to buy prepaid calling cards for our troops abroad.

All of us have one or two old and unused cell phones laying around that still work. This is a great place to utilize your unused resource!

www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com

-RP-

 

I dropped off a few from a friend of mine who saw this in our local AT&T in the mall.

 

Are they allowed to have cell phones? If so, what happend to their cell phones that they had before the war or before shipping out? Just wondering

 

Yes we can have cell phones. But, do you think they work in the desert? We use calling cards via a sat up link the army has kindly put up. Or we can buy sat phones for 600 or 700 bucks. Re-read what was posted, we don't use the cell phones, we use the profits from selling them to buy phone cards.

 

Yes, we are allowed to take cell phones with us. However, they don't work in most places (out of range). In the few places they might work, you would have to buy a local SIM card (lot's of money).

The alternative is to use the phones wired up on base. The DOD phone network will get you to a stateside number, but you need a calling card to call home. In rare instances, you can call your local base or post, and they will transfer you to your house, but only if you live in the local area. This is assuming of course, you can get to a DOD phone. For weeks at a time, especially while traveling to and from the area you are being deployed to, you have to rely on commercial pay phones (which overseas can mean bug bucks).

The vast majority of the soldiers serving can only call home with a calling card, and this organization trades old cell phones for calling card minutes.

 

Check out the site... and the original post...

They don't ship the phones to the soldiers... they resell the phones to a recylcing center. The recycling center pays the charity for the phones and then they resell them (these are the phones that you'll see on the shelf at your local Quicky Mart-type of place).

Utilizing the funds that are gained by selling the phones to the recylcer, they buy pre-paid calling cards and distribute them to the men and women who are deployed.

-RP-

 

Oh thats cool!

 

It really is a great organization.

Again, it's not about whether or not you're for or against the war -- it's whether or not you're for or against our men and women in uniform being able to be supported by family and friends via telephone communications. As I think most will tell you that have been deployed to the sandbox, it's critically important to keep in touch with home to keep your sanity.

I used to speak with a very good buddy of mine that was deployed several times per month - and even more frequently on AOL IM. Mike was killed on June 15, 2005 in an ambush by a RPG. Story Mike always talked about speaking with his mom and sister on the phone and how he always struggled to keep it together when he talked to them. I know speaking with them meant the world to him and he echoed what has already been mentioned on the difficulties in getting in touch with loved ones back home.

My point -- support our troops in any way, shape or form where you're able. This is a way for me to do a tiny part in what needs to be a country-wide effort!

 

Kids have the BEST ideas!

Definitely a good Cause...

 

when you're over there, a phone call home is priceless

it's a good worthwhile organization that is actually making a difference for military personell

 

There are some places you can use the cell phones. Where im at now we can use them, but its at least $3.00 a min!!! I just heard about a girl that got a $7000 phone bill!!! i think ill stick to the 15 min phone calls and e-mail... haha

 

Bumping this back to the top once more... then off to oblivion.

BTW, I should add that I learned about this charity through my last Amazon.com order. That order contained a postage-paid baggie in it where you could simply drop in your old phones and forward them on. In short, this charity has teamed with key vendors (big ones, at that) to promote their charity. This isn't a little fly by night operation...

Give it a thought... all you have to do is clear out the memory on your phone if you're worried about data getting crossways with someone else. What else are you going to do with that old Nokia 5120 or Moto Startac?

 

Startac!

People still hanging on to those?