If you have old cellphones collecting dust in boxes, drawers or cabinets around your house, they can still be put to good use.
CT COMM will be collecting mobile devices and then turn them into 911 emergency-only phones for those in need until June 30, 2021.
CT COMM is volunteering its help to assist Secure the Call, a 501(c)(3) non-profit which collects used and unwanted cell phones to redistribute them to community partners nationwide. In this case, community partners include, but are not limited to, senior citizen centers, domestic women’s shelters, police and sheriff’s departments. Phones that are collected but are broken or unusable are then properly recycled and not sent to a landfill.
“We take for granted that everyone has a cell phone,” said Tim Bolander, CEO and General Manager of CT COMM, “but unfortunately that is just not the case. ‘Secure the Call’ is an organization that is not only ensuring that 911 services are available to some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens, but also working to recycle phones that aren’t able to be put into new hands.”
The Secure the Call barrel is located in CT COMM’s lobby, at 126 Scioto St., Urbana until June 30. Anyone can bring any type of cell phone (with or without the charger) regardless of its age or condition. The barrel is secure and upon receipt, Secure the Call representatives remove all SIM cards and shred them, then hook the devices up to a machine that electronically wipes out all information and digitally resets them to their original factory settings. From there, each device is able to make a 911 call – any cell phone will call 911 anywhere within the USA without a service connection from a specific network provider. All 911 calls will always go through (as long as the phone is charged).
“CT COMM is excited for the opportunity to recycle old, unused mobile devices and get them into the hands of people who could truly use them,” said Bolander.
About CT COMM
CT COMM (www.ctcomm.net) is an Internet and network solutions provider that services businesses and residential customers in Champaign County. Established in 1898 as the Champaign County Telephone Company, CT COMM is committed to the innovation and strategic implementation of products and services that are relevant, critical and valuable to the needs of local individuals, families and businesses.
