NORWELL, Mass., July 1 /PRNewswire/ - More than 150,000 troops are serving overseas and are away from their families. Cell Phones for Soldiers and Home Properties, a real estate investment trust (REIT) with communities in selected Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Southeast Florida markets, are calling on all Americans to support these brave men and women by donating used cell phones.

“We’re asking Americans to make a small sacrifice of support by donating their used cell phones, providing families with a much-needed connection to their loved ones overseas,” says Brittany Bergquist, Cell Phones for Soldiers co-founder.

Home Properties residents can donate their old cell phones to the cause at any one of almost 120 Home Properties locations in Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The goal of the collection drive is to collect 5,000 phones in three months. Non-residents are also invited to participate. To find a drop-off location near you, visit http://www.homeproperties.com and utilize the map to search in your area.

“We’re proud to show our support for U.S. soldiers, and to work with our residents and employees to contribute to a worthy cause like Cell Phones for Soldiers,” says Rosemarie Cook-Manley, Marketing Director at Home Properties.

Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., with $21 of their own money. Since then, the registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization has raised millions of dollars in donations and distributed more than 500,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas.

“We have been overwhelmed by the generous support of thousands of Americans who have helped our troops speak with their loved ones,” says the teens’ father, Bob Bergquist. “However the need for support keeps growing as more soldiers are sent to the Middle East or are asked to serve extended tours of duty.”

Through increased fundraising efforts, the Bergquist family hopes to raise more than $9 million in the next five years to fund new programs, such as providing video phones to allow soldiers abroad to see their families on a regular basis.

The phones are sent to ReCellular, which pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone — enough to provide an hour of talk time to soldiers abroad.

Approximately half of the phones ReCellular processes are reconditioned and resold to wholesale companies in over 40 countries around the world. Phones and components that cannot be refurbished are dismantled and recycled to the highest environmental standards.

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