Cell phones for soldiers

Amazon is starting to insert postage prepaid cell phone donation envelopes for Cell Phones For Soldiers. If you don't have one of these mailers, you can also print it at their site. There are two versions of the printable label, one for AT&T users and one for all other traffic.

I just sent them the two Nokias that we replaced for iPhones over Christmas, and one of the two older Nokias we had before that (the second of the older Nokias died long ago).

The phones don't go straight to the troops, instead they are sold wholesale, the proceeds are used to purchase phone cards that are given to the troops overseas. The phones themselves are either refurbished or recycled.

If you have a drawer full of these phones but would rather not donate to the soldiers, there are plenty of organizations that will gladly accept these phones. Here is a sample from Google:

WADT - Women Are Dreamers Too, a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization, helping victims of Domestic Violence transcend poverty through micro-enterprise training.

Shelter Alliance - A company that helps charities run cell phone donation programs.

Eco Cell - Another company that runs cell phone recycling campaigns for charities.

Hope Line - A program run by Verizon Wireless that recycles cell phones to "provide wireless phones and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness."