Cell Phone Collection Surge

July 4th Collection Surge, Donate Your Old Cell Phone

Last year Veterans & Family Memorial Care Providers nationwide provided our troops overseas with over One Million Free Calling Minutes to stay in touch with family and friends at home. This year A.W. Rich Funeral Home, the areas exclusive VFMC Provider is calling upon our community to show your patriotism & pride by donating your old cell phones in an effort to reach our 2011 goal of providing 2 Million Free Calling minutes for our brave heroes abroad. “Our exclusive membership in Veterans & Family Memorial Care and their strategic partnership with Cell Phones for Soldiers, a 501c3 non-profit, has been a tremendous success” said John Workman. We are committed to giving every soldier serving overseas a much needed connection to their loved ones back home.”† Please call and drop off your old cell phones at A.W. Rich Funeral Home 802-849-6261 or 802-879-4611.

Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., with $21 of their own money. Since then, the registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization has raised millions of dollars in donations and distributed more than 500,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas.

"We have been overwhelmed by the generous support of thousands of Americans who have helped our troops speak with their loved ones," says the teens' father, Bob Bergquist. "However the need for support keeps growing as more soldiers are sent to the Middle East or are asked to serve extended tours of duty."

Through increased fundraising efforts, the Bergquist family hopes to raise more than $9 million in the next five years to fund new programs, such as providing video phones to allow soldiers abroad to see their families on a regular basis.

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.

Approximately half of the phones ReCellular processes are reconditioned and resold to wholesale companies in over 40 countries around the world. Phones and components that cannot be refurbished are dismantled and recycled to the highest environmental standards.