[May 02, 2009] Milford answers call to collect cell phones for troops Tweet MILFORD, May 02, 2009 (Connecticut Post - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The city will participate in the national Cell Phones for Soldiers campaign, with several drop-off locations set up on Thursday. The nonprofit group collects old cell phones for recycling, using the proceeds to pay for phone cards for active-duty military personnel. Christine Meady, owner of Liberty Tax Service here, brought the program to Milford and enlisted the help of Mayor James L. Richetelli Jr. and Robert Gregory, the city's community development director. Meady said that iPods and other MP3 players may also be dropped off, as well as used toner cartridges from printers. The items do not have to be in working condition, she said, because they will be recycled. Each donated item covers the cost of a one-hour, prepaid calling card for U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Collection boxes have been placed in the City Hall lobby, in the Milford Senior Center, the Parsons Government Center and the Milford Library. "We have a long tradition in Milford of supporting our military and we're pleased and proud to be participating in this program," Richetelli said. Teenagers Brittany and Robbie Berquist of Norwell, Mass., came up with the idea for Cell Phones for Soldiers about six years ago, after hearing a news story about a U.S. soldier in Iraq with a staggering phone bill. Liberty Tax Service is a national partner in the program and so far has collected more than 117,000 used cell phones, company spokeswoman Heather Habelka wrote. For more information, visit the program's Web site, www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com. To see more of the Connecticut Post, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.connpost.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, Connecticut Post, Bridgeport Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]