Calling All Phones!

If you have been paying attention (or read my banner) at all you know my goal for the year is 45 charitable acts. I was a little worried this was too much. Especially since I am counting several instances as one, in certain cases. To keep myself on track I set a bar of 5 charitable acts per month -  45 divided by 12 is 4.5. In January I accomplished 7 plus some ongoing missions that are not yet complete and counted. Pretty good start!

My last act for January was to collect and donate cell phones to benefit local domestic violence shelters through Shelter Alliance. The Birmingham Group, which runs a program for victims of domestic violence, is headquartered in Ansonia, CT. They offer emergency shelter, transitional housing and many other forms of support. They also have a lovely thrift store in Derby, My Sister's Place, that I have donated to and my mother volunteered for in the past.

I have sent cell phones before, but this time I sent out a call for others. Two friends brought me their retired hardware. I went to the Shelter Alliance website via the Birmingham Group website, printed a free mailing label and packed 'em up.

(Please note, I am an over-thinking doofus. I read the instructions "attach batteries to phone", took them out and attached them to the outside. When I read it again, I realized they meant KEEP IT IN THE PHONE. So, you will not need rubber bands. Just common sense.)

Shelter Alliance will recycle the phones - either refurbish for use or sell for parts and metals - so it doesn't matter how old or out of date they are or even what condition they are in. I suggest you take out the smart cards and destroy them. They also suggest you erase any hard memory stored in the phone. (You can see more information in their FAQ's.) 

Depending on the phone, their fund gives .50 to $30 per phone back to non-profit partners through their Shelter Alliance Emergency Fund, including Birmingham Group.

Soooo..are you hoarding old phones because you know not to throw them away but want to do something with them? This is easy! And will benefit your local shelter wherever you are in North America! Go dig out those phones and let me know if you sent any and how many!