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Brittany
Bergquist
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Brittany
Bergquist
18
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Norwell
,
MA
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“I had the incredible chance to travel to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital, where I met wounded solders who had just arrived from the battlefields of Afghanistan. I was so inspired and even more motivated to make a difference after my conversations with these brave American heroes.”
In April 2004, at just 13 years old, Brittany Bergquist heard a news story about an American soldier stuck with a $7,000 cell phone bill, he accrued by communicating with his family while he was serving in the Middle East. Struck with the heartache that must come when service members cannot talk to their families, Brittany launched Cell Phones for Soldiers, Inc., a nonprofit organization that offers thousands of troops the opportunity to keep in closer contact with their loved ones.
Cell Phones for Soldiers, Inc. (CPFS) collects used cell phones through more than 10,000 drop-off sites and sends them to ReCellular, a cell phone recycling company that pays CPFS for each donated phone. CPFS then uses the funds from recycling to send prepaid phone cards to troops serving at military bases and recuperating in hospitals, giving them the opportunity to connect with their families and feel closer to home.
Since 2004, CPFS has collected more than 2.5 million cell phones and currently collects an average of 50,000 cell phones per month. In addition to providing 550,000 prepaid phone cards (33 million minutes) to soldiers, recycling used phones has the added benefit of keeping tons of toxic waste and chemicals found in the old cell phones out of our landfills and water supplies. In the next five years, CPFS plans to raise more than $9 million to fund new programs, including providing video phones with prepaid service that allow soldiers to see their families while talking to them.
With a bright future ahead of her as a student at Stonehill College, Brittany devotes every free moment to boosting the morale of American troops by providing them with the precious gift of hearing the voices of their loved ones. That’s why Brittany is a 2009 Woman of Worth.
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"I dedicate every free moment to continuing to make a difference in the lives of our troops and their loved ones"
Hear Brittany discuss her work
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ORGANIZATION
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