After hearing about the enormous cell phone bill that a young soldier from Massachusetts had rung up calling loved ones at home from the Middle East, fourteen-year-old Brittany Bergquist decided to help him and other soldiers keep in touch with their loved ones without breaking going into debt to do so.

With help from her siblings, nineteen-year-old Courtney and thirteen-year-old Robbie, Brittany began to organize car washes and yard sales to raise money to help the soldier pay his phone bill. A used cell phone-recycling program was then organized. Since April of 2004, Brittany and her siblings have worked diligently on the project, Cell Phones for Soldiers. A Web site soon followed, as well: www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com. The Web site enables individuals, companies, schools, and other organizations, to become drop-off sites across the country and the world. Cell Phones for Soldiers now has 4,000 drop-off sites across the country. E-mail provides soldiers' addresses to cellphonesforsoldiers@yahoo.com, from which the project volunteers send back phone cards.

Since its inception, Cell Phones for Soldiers has raised over $800,000 through donations and recycling. 50,000 soldiers serving in the Middle East and elsewhere have since received prepaid phone cards. In August 2005, Cell Phones for Soldiers began sending videophones to bases across the United States and in the Middle East. Not only does Cell Phones for Soldiers serve to help families of our military, but also the environment by keeping the toxic lead found in cell phones out of our landfills. Brittany’s grassroots campaign, “To change the way our soldiers call home,” has inspired many Americans to join and support our troops. And Brittany has even met with our local Congressman, William Delahunt, to discuss Cell Phones for Soldiers and find other ways to help soldiers serving overseas keep in touch with families without undertaking such heavy charges.

Brittany has always wanted to help others in need. When she heard that one of my friends had to undergo chemotherapy to fight breast cancer, Brittany grew her hair long and donated it to the organization, Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients. Brittany has a big heart and gets involved in many organizations to help others. A member of the Best Buddies Club at her school, Norwell High, Brittany actually proved instrumental in bringing the club to her middle school last year. In all that she does, Brittany Bergquist always thinks of others and how to help them when they need it.

To learn more about Brittany Bergquist and her cause, and how you can make a difference, please visit:
www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com.

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