VGCC Collects Phones to help Soldiers Connect
Students, staff and faculty at Vance-Granville Community College recently took part in an effort to help members of the U.S. military overseas connect with loved ones back home. VGCC’s Student Government Association collected 120 used cellular phones, plus a box of accessories, for the “Cell Phones for Soldiers” program. “In less than a month, we exceeded our goal of 100 phones by 20, and that is outstanding,” said VGCC Student Activities Coordinator Peyton Boyd, who is himself a veteran of the war in Iraq. Boyd added that the phones were sent off just in time for Mother’s Day.
Cell Phones for Soldiers (http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/) is a national campaign that collects old phones, sells them to a third party recycler, and uses the proceeds to purchase prepaid calling cards for American servicemen and women stationed overseas. A donation of one used phone is enough to provide 60 minutes of talk time. Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded in 2004 by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., with $21 of their own money. Since then, the registered non-profit organization has raised almost $1 million in donations and distributed more than 400,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers. According to the organization, the phones themselves cannot be sent because most would not work in the Middle East, and for security reasons, a cell phone cannot be sent directly to a U.S. soldier serving in a war zone.
Boyd said that the collection of phones was just one of many community projects in which this year’s Student Government Association participated. Others benefited Relay for Life, the American Red Cross and the Any Soldier Program.
Above: From left, VGCC Student Activities Coordinator Peyton Boyd, Student Government Association president Ed Lyons of Louisburg, secretary Trisha Renn of Henderson and Public Information Officer Gabrielle Julius of Henderson display some of the used phones donated by students, faculty and staff for the Cell Phones for Soldiers program. (VGCC photo)
