Credit Union Supports Cell Phones for Soldiers

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama Alabama Telco Credit Union has partnered with the Cell Phones for Soldiers organization to help deployed soldiers call home for free. The credit union will collect and recycle used cell phones, with proceeds used to give soldiers free 60-minute calling cards. The credit union will collect old phones from Nov. 18 through Dec. 31. Phones can be dropped off at any Telco Credit Union branch during that period. The recycling company will remove personal data from the phones, but its recommended that donors do so before dropping off their phone. The phones SIM card also can be removed before the phone is donated. Stanton Davis, Alabama Telco Credit Union vice president, said the program already is resonating with credit union members, who havent waited for the official start of the donation program to bring in phones. "Partnering with Cell Phones for Soldiers helps us give back to those men and women who help protect us every day by addressing that everyday emotional need to hear a familiar voice while far away, especially during more sentimental times, like the holidays," Davis said in a statement. The cell phone donation program was started by two teenagers from Massachusetts.