Illinois Comptroller Topinka helps to collect 'cell phones for soldiers'

Comptroller joins forces with national organization

 

Chicago, IL – Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka has joined a national campaign to connect soldiers abroad with their loved ones back home through old and used cell phone donations.

The Cell Phones for Soldiers program turns old phones into minutes on prepaid calling cards for U.S. troops overseas. Specifically, donated phones are sent to ReCellular, which pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone, usually enough to provide an hour of talk time to soldiers abroad. To assist in the effort, Topinka has placed cell phone drop-off boxes on the main and 15th floors of the James R. Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph St., Chicago.

The Comptroller encourages community members to contribute their old and used phones before the boxes are collected on November 18, 2011.

“I am proud to be a part of this wonderful outreach program,” Topinka said. “As a mother of a Major in the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, I understand how costly overseas telephone calls can get. The last thing families of our troops should have to worry about is the expense of calling home.”

Founded in 2004, Cell Phones for Soldiers is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization. In the seven years since, the organization has collected more than 7.5 million cellphones, providing troops with more than 90 million minutes of free talk time.

The Illinois Office of the Comptroller joins a network of more than 3,000 collection sites across the country. For more information on the program, log onto www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com.