Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Couple put out call for cell phones

Drop off unwanted cell phones, and they can be converted into calling cards for the troops.

By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
Published December 12, 2007

If you're planning on getting - or giving - a cell phone for Christmas, you might want to stop before you toss out the old one and consider using it to bring some cheer to troops and their families.

A Seminole couple have joined the "Help Them Call Home" campaign and hope folks will drop off their used cell phones so they can be turned into "phone minutes" for members of the military.

The campaign began when Pensacola resident Jodie Butler's brother-in-law died Dec. 1, 2005, while serving in Iraq. Before he died, Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Clay, a Marine, had written a letter to his family that was to be read if he did not make it home. It said in part:

"As a Marine this is not the last chapter. I have the privilege of being one who has finished the race. I have been in the company of heroes. I now am counted among them. Never falter! Don't hesitate to honor and support those of us who have the honor of protecting that which is worth protecting."

Butler began the program to honor Clay and to support his fellow troops. For every phone that is turned in, the troops get a free calling card with 250 minutes on it. Cash donations also are accepted. For every $40, the troops get a free calling card with 1,200 minutes.

Lee and Gloria Ornstein became involved after attending the graduation of Lee Ornstein's son-in-law from Officer Candidate School in Pensacola. Mrs. Ornstein's son is also a soldier who has been stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is scheduled to return to Afghanistan.

"So you can see why I want to do this," she said.

The Ornsteins got the support of Seminole's Fire Department and Pinellas Suncoast Fire and Rescue, which are letting them put collection bins at each fire station.

The condition of the phone does not matter.

Fast facts

To donate a phone

If you want to donate a phone, you can drop it off at any of these addresses:

Pinellas Suncoast Fire and Rescue

Station 27, 304 First St., Indian Rocks Beach

Station 28, 13501 94th Ave., Seminole

City of Seminole Fire and Rescue

Station 29, 11195 70th Ave., Seminole

Station 30, 9971 Starkey Road, Seminole

Station 31, 13091 88th Ave., Seminole

Station 32, 10780 110th Ave., Seminole

For information, see www.helpthemcallhome.org.

[Last modified December 11, 2007, 23:33:05]