Hoffman Promoting Year round Cell Phone for Soldiers Drive

BELLEVILLE, Ill. – For over a year, state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, and his staff pushed a sustained effort for collecting hundreds of used cell phones from local organizations, businesses and individuals to donate to Cell Phones for Soldiers, a nonprofit organization that uses the donations to help active duty soldiers to stay in touch with their family and friends while deployed.

“We’ve been running the phone drive for over a year, and it’s been very successful,” Hoffman said. “There have been a couple hundred of phones donated and that has resulted in hours and hours of time for our troops to talk with their family and friends.”

In addition to the phone drive, similar efforts are being pushed to support Cell Phone for Soldiers Minutes That Matter Program. Every gently used phone that is donated, which is valued at $5 dollars, can get a solider two and a half hours of free time to talk with loved ones back in the states. To date over 300 million minutes of talk time have been given and used by our troops serving around the world.

“Donating’s these phones can go a long way to insure our men and women in uniform can stay in touch with their loved ones”, Hoffman said. “In the coming weeks and months I encourage residents in the area to stop my office at 312 S. High St. in Belleville to donate any leftover cellphones they no longer need.”

For more information on this event or similar drives for the soldiers of the U.S. Armed Forces, please contact Hoffman’s constituent office by phone at 618-416-7407 or email repjayhoffman@gmail.com.