Library aids program to provide calling minutes to military personnel

The Ocean County Library will participate in the national “Cell Phone for Soldiers” program by distributing postage-paid envelopes for shipping cell phones at 17 of its branches.

The local distribution of the envelopes will begin Monday August 11, said Senior Librarian Meagan Toohey.

“Cell Phones for Soldiers” is a 501.c.3 non-profit organization. It sells the collected cell phones to ReCellular, Inc. which recycles the units. Each donated cell phone purchases one hour of talk time. A receipt for cell phone donations will be available at the branches.

“Cell Phones for Soldiers” will accept any make or model cell phone, cell phone chargers, batteries, accessories, Blackberry PDA's and pagers.

“Americans will replace an estimated 130 million cell phones this year,” said Mike Newman, vice president of ReCellular, “with the majority of phones either discarded or stuffed in a drawer. Most people don't realize that the small sacrifice of donating their unwanted phones can have a tremendous benefit for a worthy cause like Cell Phones for Soldiers.”

Information for removing data off a donated cell phone can be found at www.recellular.com/recycliing/data_eraser/default.asp.

The money the organization collects from selling the phones is used to purchase prepaid calling cards that are distributed to military personnel. Since the organization was formed in 2004 by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., it has raised more than $2 million and purchased more than 500,000 cards. That equals nearly 18 million minutes of talk time, according to the group's Web site www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com .

“Cell Phones for Soldiers started as a small way to show our family's appreciation for the men and women who have sacrificed the day-to-day contact with their own families to serve in the U.S. armed forces,” said the teens' father Bob Bergquist. “Over the past few years, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of others. But, we have also seen the need to support our troops continue to grow as more troops are sent overseas for longer assignments.”

The prepaid envelopes can be picked up at the following locations: Barnegat; Bay Head; Beachwood; Brick; Berkeley; Island Heights; Jackson; Lacey; Little Egg Harbor; Manchester; Plumsted; Point Pleasant Borough; Stafford; Toms River; Tuckerton; Upper Shores (Lavallette); and Waretown.