Turn your Old Cellphones into Calling Cards for Troops

One of the biggest challenges our troops face at the border is not having communication access to connect with their family members. Not being able to carry cell phones due to strict rules for communication devices make it difficult for us to donate old cell phones directly. But there are certainly other ways that you can use your old mobile phones to support our troops. Just give it a thought. You might have several good handsets lying around just gathering dust in an old drawer. Why might not use old mobile phones for charity and put them to good use?

Considering using old mobile phones for charity and giving it to an organization that uses them to support our troops. Being able to call your loved ones without worrying about costs is one of the best things that you can provide our troops who risk their lives every day so we can feel safe and secure. We can contribute a little bit simply by recycling our old handsets.

While it might not be the same thing as buying a brand new mobile for our veteran or soldier, giving your phones for charity can make a huge impact in a soldier’s life. Choose an organization that helps to recycle your old phones and helps veterans and troops serving overseas in deployment. An organization such as Cell Phones for soldiers take your old mobile phones, recycle them, and from the money earned; they buy calling cards for our troops, so soldiers can call their loved ones whenever they want without incurring enormous costs.

So every time you buy a new mobile phone for yourself, do not just dunk your old cell phone in our drawer but think about donating it to a charity organization. Even if the handset is not in a working condition, the materials are still recyclable. Also, one more advantage of donating your old phone is that all the expense related to the shipment are tax-deductible. Although, most charities do not determine the exact price of your donated cell phone, you can contact your tax advisor regarding the tax implications of your gift.

Apart from helping our troops by donating your old cell phones, you will also help the environment. When you throw electronic gadgets, the e-waste ends up in a landfill, polluting our natural resources. With the increasing e-waste ending up in landfills, it only makes sense to recycle these instruments for a worthy cause.

Support our Soldiers and Disabled Veterans

There are a number of ways you can show your appreciation to our soldiers. Irrespective of whether they are on duty or those who are veterans now, you can support our troops through various programmes.

But when trying to decide which of the 400,000 military charity associations to give our hard-earned dollars to, becomes a terrible job.

To make matter worse, in recent years, some of the biggest and best known of these military charity associations have been hit with serious allegations.

News enough to make you just close your wallet and quit?

Don’t be discouraged.

Mentioned here are just some of the government and private organizations that assist volunteers like you who would like to help support our troops.

Check out these programs to see the ones that suit you…

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) – http://www.vfw.org
The VFW, with its Auxiliaries, includes 2.2 million members in approximately 8,100 posts worldwide. Their mission is to “honor the dead by helping the living” through veterans’ service, community service, national security and a strong national defence.

You can make donations to their veterans charity programs that support our troops while they are on the front line, as they are being discharged and long after they return. Your tax-deductible donation will be immediately directed to the VFW programs where your support is most urgently needed.

Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) – http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org
WWP’s primary objectives are to raise awareness, enlist the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women, provide unique, direct programs and services for these service members, etc.

United States Department of Veterans Affairs – http://www.va.gov
The VA’s goal is to provide excellence in patient care, veterans’ benefits, and customer satisfaction. They offer a wide variety of services, including disability compensation, health programs, housing services, and has more than 1500 facilities across the nation.

Cell Phones For Soldiers http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com
Provides a unique yet simple way to support deployed troops by way of buying calling cards to gift the soldiers for calling home. People donate their old mobile phones for charity.

The organisation recycles the old mobile phones given for charity and extracts
useful materials like gold, silver, copper, etc. from those devices. The money obtained goes for buying calling cards.

Since inception in April 2004 till now, it has donated 300 million minutes of free talk time to soldiers calling home. Also, supports veterans through providing emergency funds to veterans and their families.

Your Old Cell Phone Can Touch Lives!

Plenty of ways are there through which you can show your appreciation to our soldiers. Irrespective of whether they are on duty or those who are veterans now having already served for our country in the past.

One such simple yet powerful way of showing your gratitude is by donating your used cell phones to mobile phone charity. This is a movement that urges everyone to get involved in mobile phone charity that is to donate and not to sell the old cell phone.
The idea behind such activity is to support our troops by helping them fulfill one of their basic needs and FREE of cost. That is, they should be able to talk to their loved ones back at home while they are serving far away at dangerous war zones.

When instead of selling your old cell phone you donate it, your mobile phone gets responsibly recycled. It goes through processes by which the valuable materials contained in these devices are extracted and the money from such process goes to fund the charitable programs that truly provide a lifeline to our troops, veterans and their families.

Buying calling cards to support our troops, support our veterans and their families is one such programme and a company called Cell Phones For Soldiers is engaged in such activities since 2004. Till now our troops have received 300 million minutes of free talk time and more than 5 million prepaid international calling cards.

Another awesome benefit this type of charity brings is, it helps to prevent consumer electronics from being discarded in ways that can harm the environment. That saves nature.

Every year in the United States, people discard around 3 million tons of electronic waste improperly, which contains PCBs, cadmium, mercury, and lead. Substances that are toxic and can even be carcinogenic. If discarded irresponsibly, those substances can leach into the soil, endangering our already fragile ecosystem and potentially contaminating our food and water supply.

You too can be a part of any such wonderful services that has double benefit of helping nature and at the same time supporting our troops.

Instead of selling away your old cell phone and anything of the kind, like Smartphone, Tablet even MP3 or by way of monetary donation you can contribute to such mobile phone charity.

A magnificent way you can touch the lives of men and women who are deployed away from the comforts of home, parents, kids and friends.

5 Ways to Support Our Troops

More often than not, soldiers come home from an assignment to face the most difficult battles of their lives—reintegrating into society, recovering from injuries, paying debts, finding jobs, etc. They need our help. While most of us will never serve in the army or any part of the military, there are countless means to support our troops and serve veterans as well as soldiers still on duty, thanks to organizations that offer opportunities to volunteer, make monetary donations, and even take old mobile phones for charity. Below are simple yet meaningful ways that you can support our troops and make a difference in the lives of those who have been wounded in battle:

• Assisting wounded/disabled veterans as they go to their medical appointments is a good way to give back to our troops. Some veterans return home from duty needing constant medical care; others may even need to care the rest of their lives. There are organizations that provide free transportation to veterans who may not have the means to travel to their VA medical facilities. Volunteering to drive veterans who need a lift to their doctor’s appointments is a simple yet extremely helpful way to support our troops.
• Selling cell phones or donating old mobile phones for charity is also one of the most unconventional ways you can support soldiers. Charities that accept old cell phones use proceeds to fund different projects, including financial grants for veterans and programs that allow soldiers on duty to communicate free of charge with their loved ones at home. Feeling connected to loved ones while serving halfway across the globe helps soldiers get through being away from home for months—sometimes even years at a time.
• Coping with the aftermath of war can be tough for veterans, especially those who suffer from post-traumatic stress. In addition to charities that cater to veterans battling PTSD, other institutions also provide help by giving them companion dogs that can help them cope with the stress of PTSD.
• Some severely injured veterans come home to houses that don’t have the right facilities to accommodate their physical needs. There are organizations that offer help by building brand new adapted homes for physically disabled veterans and adapt existing homes to meet the needs of those who require mobility assistance. These homes are given at no cost (along with financial planning services) to help veterans and their families get back on their feet and regain self-sustenance after fully recovering from their injuries.

Helping Veterans and Their Families

The brave men and women who make the choice to serve in the military, fight for our country, and risk their life in exchange for our safety deserve our help. The good news is that there are countless ways to give back and do your part to support our troops. From offering veterans a ride to donating miles all the way to selling your old cell phone, you can support veterans in the most unconventional ways, thanks to organizations that pave the way for these programs. Do you want to give back to the very people who risk their lives to serve and protect the United States on a daily basis? Here are simple gestures you can do to send soldiers your love, even if it’s not Memorial Day:

 

• Donate an old cell phone – Sell your old cellphone in exchange for cost-free communication services for veterans and their military families. Cell Phones for Soldiers is a unique charity that provides international calling cards as well as emergency financial assistance to veterans by refurbishing donated phones and using the proceeds from such to fund their programs.

• Build a home for the severely injured – There are countless severely incurred veterans who come home in dire need of a better place to live—one that accommodates their current physical state and supports their disabilities so they can be more functional. Charities like Building Homes for Heroes work to build modified homes for disabled veterans, helping them live more independently. The homes that they build are given at no cost to veterans. On top of this, they provide financial planning services to help veterans manage their money.

• Drive a veteran around – Most of the time, veterans also come home needing medical care—and sometimes, they require medical assistance for the rest of their lives. There are organizations that grant free transportation to returning soldiers who may not have the capacity to bring themselves to their local Veterans Affairs facilities. By volunteering to drive a car or van for veterans who need a lift, you help make sure that they get the medical attention they need.

• Send a care package to support our troops who are still in mission – Operation Gratitude is another not for profit organization whose main aim is to support veterans. Over the years, the charity has sent at least 1.5 million specifically-addressed care packages to military communities across the globe. They send care packages not only to current military members, but also to veterans as well wounded warriors and their loving caregivers.

Provide Precious Talk Time for Our Troops to Connect Families

There’s a real-life story of a soldier returning home from the Iraq war with a hefty $8000 phone bill. For a man who is ready to die for the sake of his country, leaving behind his family and friends to serve in a war thousands of miles away from home, it seemed inhuman to expect him to pay his bills. After all communication with closed ones may be what it takes for a soldier to feel mortal in the cold and ugly face of war and death. It is this deep sensitivity that ultimately led to a goodwill initiative to collect funds by recycling old phones to purchase pre-paid international calling cards for troops stationed around the world.

When a soldier says “Hello” to his loved ones, great things happen:

A soldier’s morale is high when it is possible to connect with family and friends. Knowing they are safe will ease his worrying and warm his soul.

Do you know that in 2001-2004 divorce rates nearly doubled for military members and have risen since? Regular communication by phones will help keep the families of soldiers together.

With a free calling card, the soldier need out worry about the calling cost and can have longer and more intense conversations

The Military Benefits Deployment Center lists staying in touch with loved ones as a top-five “how to survive deployment strategy”! The voice of a loved one will bring tears of joy and a heart filled with inner peace and contentment.

You can support soldiers calling home

Some organizations rely on generous donors for cash contributions and funds raised by the recycling of used cell phones. The proceeds are used to purchase international calling cards for troops stationed around the world. A successful initiative over the years can provide more than 150 million minutes of talk time overseas and a recycling of nearly 10 million cell phones. A committed organization can receive an average of 12,000 calling card requests each week, and will fulfill each and every one of them.

Top benefits of communicating on phone

When you call somebody, you not only have words but you also have tone and pacing to help you decode the message
When speaking over the phone, you can be as clear as possible and provide feedback during an engaging conversation.
With a phone call, you can pick up on the intonation, there is a little less room for interpretation, and you can build a more positive, emotional bond.

Other Ways to Help Soldiers

You can support soldiers with funds to alleviate communication challenges and any physical, emotional and assimilation hardships they may encounter. They may need help to buy a cell phone to scout for a new job or to pay their mortgage or return or purchase prescription medicines to help fight PTSD.

Unwanted phones can damage the environment

Recycling your old phone will also contribute to keep it out of landfills and thus protect the environment. Mobile phones are rooted with hazardous chemicals and heavy metals which contaminate the environment. Each year more than 130 million cell phones are decommissioned by a dedicated social organization.

Helping our troops stay connected

We live freely, have the independence to express our views, and go to bed every night without any fear – this is due to the support of the strong troops of our country who risk their lives every day to keep us safe.

It becomes necessary that we show our deep gratitude and acknowledge their work as we owe a great deal to all the men and women in our armed forces. We need to support our troops and extend any help to them as well to their families, helping to make their difficult lives as easy as possible.

Our armed forces are one the bravest in the world and are often deployed in areas that are thousands of  miles away from their home. They endure this and much more, just because they can protect our present and build a better future for the next generations. The time during deployment is the toughest time, filled with apprehension and nervousness for families of active veterans who are concerned about  their safety and security. It becomes even more difficult for family members when there is no way to communicate with their loved ones, and are constantly coping with physical and emotional distance.

So, how can you support our troops?

It is critical to participate in troop assistance and help soldiers who stay around the globe stay connected with their families and friends back home. All you need to do is donate your old cell phone to a respectable charity, which then uses the money received from recycling to send prepaid calling cards to service member, so they can call home and talk to their families.

Why should you donate your old cell phone?

Cell phones contain many recyclable materials such as glass, plastic, silver, coltan, and more, which are wasted if you simply throw away your phone in a trash can. Also, these old cell phones when deposited in landfills, leach out chemicals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium that have the potential to contaminate underground water resources and cause brain damage, cancer, nervous system disorders, among other illnesses.

So, instead of throwing something that would have been useless otherwise, you can simply donate your cell phone to troop charity who will find a better use for your old or outdated phone.

How does it help?

By donating your old cell phones for soldiers, you know that you are helping service members remain in contact with those they love. This little initiative that requires very little time and effort from your side will make it possible for wives and husbands to stay connected with each other and provide assurance. The simple gestures that we take for granted every day, like saying goodnight to your kids before they go to bed, or saying bye to your spouse before leaving home for work are a luxury for our brave veterans. By helping them connect, we provide them  the feeling of normalcy which so many of us have taken for granted.