Military

MILITARY

Recycled Cell Phones Help Keep Military Families Connected

AT&T wireless stores to serve as used cell phone drop-off locations in support of nonprofit group ‘Cell Phones for Soldiers’

San Antonio, TX--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) announced today that all AT&T owned wireless store locations nationwide will become wireless phone recycling drop-off sites for a charitable program that benefits U.S. military families. The new recycling program, which was started by two teenagers, was announced just days before Memorial Day and will be available in all company owned stores across the U.S. by Independence Day.

More and more Hispanics have family members that are deployed across the world with the U.S. military. According to Department of Defense, as of 2004 data, Hispanics make up 14.6 percent of the marines; 9.2 percent of the navy; 11.3 of the army; and 6 percent of the air force. Furthermore, the Census shows that 1.1 million U.S. veterans are of Hispanic origin.

Cell Phones for Soldiers (http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com) was established by two Norwell, Mass., teenagers to help buy prepaid phone cards for U.S. military members who are serving overseas. The teens, Brittany Bergquist, 16, and Robbie Bergquist, 15, created a nonprofit organization that collects and recycles used wireless phones. With proceeds from the recycling, the organization then purchases prepaid phone cards for military families.

Since the Bergquists founded the program in April 2004, they have raised more than $1 million and have sent more than 75,000 phone cards to troops overseas. Money raised also helps fund free phone calls for military families in the United States so they can call their loved ones who are stationed abroad.

AT&T is launching the new recycling program in the weeks following Memorial Day at AT&T owned wireless store locations throughout the Northeast, including Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. By Independence Day, the company will have activated the donation program in all AT&T owned wireless stores nationwide. This program will reach approximately 1,800 stores in more than 1,100 cities across the U.S. Participating stores include all the more than 600 bilingual AT&T stores across the nation.

Consumers who want to participate in the program just have to bring their used, unwanted cell phones and donate them at bins located inside the stores. Spanish and English-language literature explaining the program is available at the participating locations.

In addition, AT&T is donating more than 30,000 prepaid phone cards — valued at more than $270,000 — to the nonprofit organization to help connect more U.S. military families. AT&T is also providing the nonprofit with a new volume discount for purchasing additional phone cards. These new efforts and donations that support Cell Phones for Soldiers build on the company’s additional, ongoing activities to provide more than 50,000 free prepaid phone cards — valued at over $450,000 — to U.S. military members stationed overseas throughout 2007.

“AT&T has an 85-year tradition of supporting military members, veterans and their families, and this project further extends that commitment—when so many military families are separated during this time of conflict,” said Stan Sigman, AT&T’s President and CEO, Wireless. “AT&T is glad to do its part to help keep Hispanic families connected.”

For more than 85 years, AT&T has remained dedicated to supporting active military personnel, their families and veterans through charitable contributions, sponsorships, the hiring of military veterans and by maintaining policies that support reservists when they are called to duty. Since 2000, AT&T has donated nearly $8 million in free prepaid phone cards to military members and has provided nearly $6 million in grants supporting military members and related nonprofit organizations. The company has also built 70 calling centers for military members stationed in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, to help keep them in touch with their families.