St. Charles Supports Troops With New Cell Phone Drop-Off Program

ST. CHARLES, IL — The city of St. Charles is participating in Cell Phones for Soldiers, which is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing cost-free communication services and emergency funding to active-duty military members and veterans.

The non-profit uses proceeds from donated cellphones to purchase international calling cards for troops to call home and to provide emergency funding to veterans, according to a news release from the city.

The public is welcome to participate in the ongoing effort by dropping off old, used or broken cellphones in the collection boxes in the reception areas of the municipal building, 2 East Main Street, and police department, 1515 W. Main Street, during operating hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Cellphones, smartphones, mp3 players and tablets are accepted but laptops and monitors are not accepted.

It is recommended that donors remove the phone SIM card and conduct a factory reset prior to donating. The “Find My iPhone” feature should also be turned off prior to donating an iPhone, according to the news release.

If a donor does not clear a phone of personal data, Cell Phones for Soldiers recycling partners will follow the Department of Defense standards and immediately wipe hard drives and devices prior to turning them over to recyclers.

For more information, visit http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com.