RECYCLED CELL PHONES = HAPPY SOLDIERS

It’s that time of year when many people get new cell phones…and what do you do with your old one?
RECYCLE IT at the library!!!!

Recycling Fact #1) An estimated 100 to 130 million cell phones are
no longer being used, many just sitting in storage.*

Thanks to YOU, our customers, the library donated 227 phones this past summer to Cell Phones for Soldiers. Those donations then generated 13,620 minutes of free international calling time for our troops. The opportunity for soldiers to talk to their loved ones is priceless, so please continue supporting this wonderful organization…and tell your friends!!!

Cell Phones for Soldiers hopes to continue its mission to provide troops with FREE calls home through generous monetary contributions and the recycling of used mobile phones. Used mobile phones from all service providers are accepted. On average, Cell Phones for Soldiers distributes 12,000 calling cards each week to bases around the world, care package programs, deployment ceremonies and VA hospitals.

Recycling Fact #2) According to the EPA, if Americans recycled
100 million phones, we could save enough upstream energy to power
more than 194,000 U.S. households for a year.*

This program is a great extension of the library’s green initiative. For additional Hussey Mayfield Memorial Public Library green information and materials, please check out our Green Spot display in the non-fiction area on the 2nd floor, where we often highlight green library programs and materials like these in our catalog.

We will continue to accept donations year round. Please make your donation at the display in the 5th Street lobby and remember the following before you recycle your cellular phone:

1) Terminate your service
2) Clear the phone’s memory of contacts and other stored information. Go to www.recyclewirelessphones.com to learn how to do this;
3) Remove your phone’s SIM card, if it has one. Phones that operate on GSM networks use SIM cards. If you are not sure if your phone uses a SIM card or if you need assistance removing your SIM card, contact your wireless provider.

Recycling Fact #3) If consumers were able to reuse those 100 million
cell phones, the environmental savings would be even greater, saving
enough energy to power more than 370,000 U.S. homes each year.*

Donated phones are sent to Michigan-based ReCellular for recycling. For every donated phone valued at just $5, Cell Phones for Soldiers is able to provide two and a half hours of free talk time to deployed troops. In seven years, the registered 501(c)(3) has provided troops with more than 2 million pre-paid calling cards, which equals 114 million minutes of FREE talk time. The organization has raised more than $7 million in donations and collected more than 8.3 million cellular devices.

ABOUT CELL PHONES FOR SOLDIERS, INC.
Cell Phones for Soldiers Inc. (CPFS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing deployed and returning troops cost-free methods to communicate with family while serving in the United States military. Based in Norwell, Mass., CPFS was founded in 2004 by Robbie and Brittany Bergquist, then 12 and 13 years old. From the recycling of used mobile phones and cash donations, the organization has raised more than $7 million, collected more than 8.3 million cell phones and provided troops overseas with more than 114 million minutes of free talk time. For more information, visit Cell Phones for Soldiers

*All information from Cell Phones for Soldiers