RSSThe Beckley Area Foundation will collect “Cell Phones for Soldiers” Monday at the free Labor Day Pops Concert.
Used cell phones are collected and recycled, said Jon Calfee, co-chair of the Beckley Area Foundation’s Labor Day Concert Committee. The money raised by recycling donated phones is used to purchase calling cards for troops to call home.
Each cell phone provides one hour of talk time for a member of the armed forces, Calfee said.
Two teenagers, Amy and Robbie Bergquist, started the charity in 2004, he said.
In Beckley, the public can drop off used cell phones at Calfee Funeral Home, Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority and Rite Aid on Robert C. Byrd Drive, he said.
Just at Calfee Funeral Home, more than 15,000 minutes for troops has been raised in two years.
“We collected cell phones at the concert last year, and we had a great response,” Calfee added. “It is a great project that helps connect men and women overseas to their loved ones.”
For more information or for a list of other drop-off locations, visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com.
Also bring gently used or new toys, games, books, CDs and DVDs to the Labor Day Pops Concert. The Beckley Area Foundation’s “Every Body Can Be a Philanthropist Committee” will collect these items to send to Bowers Hospice House and the Women’s Resource Center.
