A Time to Give - New Life for Old Cell Phones

Welcome back to A Time to Give, my weekly feature where we share ways to give, ways to share, ways to be generous. If this is your first time stopping by, welcome! You can read the original A Time to Give post HERE. In a nutshell, I started this feature as a way for us to inspire each other to be even more generous. I tend to get wrapped up in finding great deals, and I don't want to lose sight of one of the reasons we live frugally... to be able to give more. Each week I'll share a giving idea of mine, and you share a giving idea of yours.

Did you know that even without a service plan, a cell phone can be used to call 911? This is an FCC requirement that just might make my old cell phone a great emergency phone for someone. I just did a little research and found a few places where old cell phones can be donated and used for emergencies:

• Senior Citizens
  Seniors who live alone are more vulnerable to falls. A cell phone can be carried in a pocket for emergencies.
• Women's Shelters
  The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence collects and distributes working cell phones to victims of domestic violence. Cell phones can be a lifeline to 911 for these women.
• Other Charities
  Head over HERE, click a charity from the list, fill out a form, print a label, and send in your phone. The company will determine the value of your phone and send a check to the charity you chose. Right now the charities include Boys & Girls Clubs, Feed the Children, American Cancer Society, Leukemia Society, Salvation Army, Soldiers' Angels, Rock the Earth, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

If you know of other organizations that collect used cell phones, please leave a comment on this post.

Now it's your turn to share your ideas for sharing, giving, and being generous. Note: If you are reading this post via an email subscription or a blog reader, you'll need to click the title of the post in order to see the links left by others.

You can participate in a couple of ways. If you're a blogger, write a post about a way that you've been able to give. It can be something simple or something out-of-the-ordinary that you did. It can be something from this week or from last year. Don't think of it as bragging... It's a way to encourage others to take action and be more generous! A few guidelines for bloggers:

• Please add a link to Saving and Giving so that your readers can find everyone's ideas all in one place.


• Make sure the link that you add here takes people directly to your A Time to Give post, not the main page of your blog. To do that, publish your post, view your blog, right click on the title, and copy the shortcut. Then paste that shortcut in as your URL here.


• Bloggers who link to other posts or their main pages will have their links removed. This eliminates confusion for others who are looking for ideas on how to give.


• Please do not link to giveaways, contests, or ads.


• Feel free to use the image above in your post. It's not mandatory, but you're welcome to it!

If you're not a blogger, you can participate too! Simply click the comments link below this post, and leave your ideas there. I would love to hear from you!

If you have any questions about A Time to Give, please feel free to contact me at savingandgiving@gmail.com. I look forward to being inspired by your ideas on giving! And stop back each Thursday for a new edition of A Time to Give.