Donate Your Old Cell Phones and Help Troops Overeas

With cell towers, satellites and the smallest, smartest phones ever invented pretty much everywhere, getting in touch has never been easier.

But for servicemen stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, getting a message home isn’t always as easy as hitting a button. But thanks to charities such as Cell Phones for Soldiers, with an assist from East Brunswick's Brunswick Memorial Home, calling home is getting easier.

Cell Phones for Soldiers collects donations of new and old phones, recycles them, and uses the proceeds to purchase calling cards for servicemen and women overseas. Locally, Brunswick Memorial Home is an official drop of point for Cell Phones for Soldiers and has set a goal of collecting 1,000 before Memorial Day. At $30 each, that could mean $30,000 worth of talk time for troops.

“We’re always very active in the community,” said Brian Kulbacki, business and operations manager at Brunswick Memorial Home in East Brunswick. “Every year we find unique opportunities and are always very active with helping veterans groups in Greater Middlesex County. “This year, the way things are going we just wanted to make a push to help the people that are actually deployed overseas and help them out. This program is a great way to do it.”

During the past year, the Brunswick Memorial Home was involved with various veterans’ organizations throughout the area, including event sponsorships and physical donations. It even covered its front lawn with an American Flag for each soldier whose life has been lost in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This year the funeral home, located at 454 Cranbury Road in East Brunswick, will collect phones in any condition and send them off to the 501(c)(3) organization.

“For the men and women who all too often sacrifice more for our freedom than anything they will ever receive in return, a beat up phone collecting dust in your drawer can mean more than you or they realize,” Gene Norton, General Manager of Brunswick Memorial Home, said in a press release.

For more information on Brunswick Memorial Home or its charitable efforts visit www.BrunswickMemorialHome.com or call 732-254-9393. For more information on Cell Phones for Soldiers, please ask when you drop off your phone or visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com.