After four years, the Alachua County Tax Collector’s office finally reached its magic number: 10,000.
That’s the number of cell phones collected by the office as part of the nonprofit organization Cell Phones for Soldiers, which recycles cell phones to purchase prepaid calling cards. These are sent overseas to U.S. soldiers, who can use them to call their loved ones back home.
The tax collector’s office began collecting phones in February 2006 and achieved its goal of reaching 10,000 donations by Dec. 31, 2010, said Stephanie Kelley, director of human resources at the tax collector’s office.
Kelley originally suggested making her workplace a drop-off location for the program.
Two teenagers from Massachusetts, Robbie and Brittany Bergquist, originally started Cell Phones for Soldiers in 2004, Kelley said.
The organization has sent overseas troops more than 500,000 calling cards, and has raised close to $2 million, according to its website.
Another employee at the tax collector’s office, Roxanne Watkins, is also heavily involved in the project, said Pam Krueger, acting president of the Military Support Group of Alachua County. The organization recently nominated Watkins for the Alachua County Veterans Advisory Board’s veteran supporter of the year award.
The tax collector’s office gives many of the 60- to-100-minute calling cards it gathers to the support group, which puts them in soldier care packages.
Jim Yakubsin, the Military Support Group’s founder and former president, understands the value of each card as he served in Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm with the U.S. Marine Corps.
His three sons — Adam, 40, Matthew, 30, and Jamie, 28 — have also served in the U.S. military overseas since the September 2001 terrorist attacks.
“I know exactly what they’re going through. I’ve been on the receiving end of packages – I know what it does for your morale,” Yakubsin said. “If nothing else, it’s just a package from home telling the guys, ‘Hey, we’re supporting you.’”
