Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office Makes Donation to Cell Phones for Soldiers Office drive results in donation of 160 phones and over $1000 in donations

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

July 28, 2008

Contact: Emily LaGrassa
Melissa Karpinsky
(617) 727-2543


BOSTON – Today, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley presented a donation on behalf of the entire Attorney General’s Office to the Norwell-based non-profit organization Cell Phones for Soldiers. Cell Phones for Soldiers collects used cell phones and cell phone accessories, as well as pre-paid calling cards and cash donations to provide calling cards to members of the military serving overseas. Attorney General Coakley today presented a donation of 160 cell phones, $825 in pre-paid calling cards, and $210 in check donations to the organization. “Many of our young servicemen and women spend months overseas serving our country, far away from their friends and families. One of the simplest ways that we can support our troops is to help make it easier for them to stay in touch with their loved ones here at home,” said Attorney General Coakley. “Cell Phones for Soldiers is a wonderful organization and I’m very proud of how generous the staff here in the Attorney General’s Office has been in our efforts to support this fantastic cause.”

The Attorney General’s Office held a cell phone drive from Mother’s Day through Father’s Day this year, collecting used phones and accessories, as well as calling cards and cash donations. This morning, Attorney General Coakley presented the donation to Brittany and Robbie Bergquist, the teenage founders of Cell Phones for Soldiers, and their cousin, Lt. Quentin Carmichael, a member of the U.S. National Guard who recently returned from deployment in Kosovo.

Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded in April 2004 by then-13-year-old Brittany Bergquist and her then-12-year-old brother Robbie of Norwell. Donated phones are sent to ReCellular, a cell phone recycling company in Michigan, which pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone – enough to provide an hour of talk time to soldiers abroad. Since its inception, the organization has raised almost $1 million in donations and distributed more than 400,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas.

View photo taken today of Attorney General Coakley with Brittany Bergquist, Robbie Bergquist, and Lt. Quentin Carmichael:

Attorney General Martha Coakley (2nd from left) presents a donation of 160 cell phones, $825 in pre-paid calling cards, and $210 in check donations to Robbie Bergquist (left), and his sister Brittany Bergquist (2nd from right), founders of Cell Phones for Soldiers, and Lt. Quentin Carmichael of the U.S. National Guard (right), who recently returned from deployment in Kosovo. On August 10, 2008, Cell Phones for Soldiers will collect donations at the Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod. In addition, the organization has over 3,000 collection sites across the country. For more information on the organization and how to donate, visit http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com or email cellphonesforsoldiers@yahoo.com.