Cell phones for soldiers

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Cell Phones For Soldiers is a charity based out of Norwell, Massachusetts. It was created in 2004 by then 13-year-old Brittany Bergquist and her then 12-year-old brother Robbie. The goal of this charity is to help soldiers serving overseas call home. The charity began when the Berquist siblings heard a news report about a local soldier who was charged a large fee on his phone bill. The kids raised money to help the soldier by emptying their piggy bank, getting snack money from their friends at school, and, with the first $21.00, they went to a local bank to open an account. The bank (in Hanover, Massachusetts), donated $500.00 to the charity.

The brother and sister are now raising funds to provide as many soldiers as possible with prepaid calling cards. Cell Phones For Soldiers is collecting both donations and old cell phones to recycle. The ultimate goal of Cell Phones For Soldiers is to provide banks of satellite phones, video phones and VoIP communications. With these donations and the profits from the recycled cell phones, Cell Phones for Soldiers has distributed thousands of calling cards to soldiers in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

The duo have been featured on many newscasts including the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric ^[1] and Foxnews.com ^[2]