The 911 Cell Phone Bank program is giving away free cell phones for emergency calls. Started in 2004, this program was created to provide an ongoing and readily available source of 911 cell phones and funds to meet unexpected and urgent needs of participating law enforcement and affiliated victim service agencies. To date, the program has generated more than $1 million in funding and has distributed over 95,000 emergency cell phones nationwide.
The 911 Cell Phone Bank program has more than 1,500 active agencies participating, and is growing. The top ten participating agencies in November were:
- Cook County Sheriff’s Office, IL
- Harbor House, FL
- FDEP Central District, FL
- Quigley House, FL
- Capital Area Corporate Recycling, LA
- Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, FL
- Bay County Sheriff’s Office, FL
- AMS HQ Fitchburg, WI
- City of Hampton Sheriff’s Office, VA
- Ross County Sheriff’s Office, OH
Each year over 100 million people upgrade their cell phones. Most people just throw them in a drawer and forget about them. Wouldn’t it be great if more people knew about this program and sent their phones to the 911 Cell Phone Bank? I know that our company, batteries4less.com, donates new batteries for cell phones donated locally to victim survivor groups. Verizon also has a program called Hopeline, refurbishing retired cell phones and distributing them to charitable organizations.
10.5 million seniors live alone. According to the 911CellPhoneBank.org website, every 9 seconds a woman is abused, and 60% of those women are pregnant. Many areas distribute these phones through county agencies or through law enforcement. Most communities have some sort of domestic violence survival program. Providing an emergency cell phone to these people has the potential to save lives in a big way. The 911 Cell Bank organization works strictly with agencies, not individuals.
Emergency phones are only for dialing 911. Cell phones are given free of charge to people who need them, but the phones will only have the capability of dialing 911. Officials estimate that more than 2,000 emergency cell phones are distributed each month through law enforcement and other agencies. Imagine the lives they can save.
Promote the 911 Cell Phone Bank and everyone wins. All donations are of course a tax deduction. You can also promote 911 Cell Phone Bank’s Facebook fan page and reach even more people. Their goal is to be “liked” by 1,000 people by the end of the year. So get on Facebook and click on the like tab for the 911 Cell Phone Bank page. Awareness is everything! You never know whose life you may be saving by a free emergency phone.
