Kudos to these kids for coming up with such a great idea!!

The Cell Phones for Soldiers program was started in April of 2004 by 13-year-old Brittany Bergquist and her 12-year-old brother Robbie of Norwell, Massachusetts.

After hearing a news report about a local soldier who ran up a massive phone bill calling home from Iraq, they decided they wanted to do something to help. Brittany and Robbie donated their piggy bank money, collected snack money from their friends at school, and with $21.00, they went to the bank to open an account. The South Shore Savings Bank of Hanover, Massachusetts donated $500.00 to help them get started.

Their goal is to help our soldiers serving overseas call home. They hope to provide as many soldiers as possible with prepaid calling cards for now with an ultimate goal of providing banks of satellite phones, video phones and VOIP communications. Through generous donations and the recycling of used cell phones from drop-off sites across the country, they have already distributed thousands of calling cards to soldiers in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Jim Kelly, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, is a proud sponsor of Cell Phones for Soldiers. With Jim’s help, not only will you be helping soldiers call home, you will be saving money at the same time.

For information on how to send your old cellphones in go here