WASHINGTON, April 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Dozens of George Washington
University students will be collecting used cell phones in
15 of Metro's busiest stations during the morning rush hours on
Wednesday, April 25.
The one day collection drive is all for a good cause. The used
cell phones and other portable electronic devices, such as tablets
and iPods will be recycled, and the proceeds will go to fund
maternal and child mobile technology health projects in
Mali, Malawi and Nepal.
The collection day will be the conclusion of the university's
GW+Phones=Hope campaign. GW announced the commitment
on Oct. 6 as part of being the host
of the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) Meeting
that took place on its campus in March. GW has been working with
the organization Hope Phones to recycle electronics. With
GW's help, Hope Phones has collected more than 10,000 electronic
devices since the GW+Phones=Hope campaign began.
In addition to collecting used cell phones, GW volunteers will
also be distributing information about Text4baby, the country's
largest mobile health information service. It supports moms
by providing accurate, text-length health information and resources
in a format that is personal and timely. Pregnant women and
new moms who text "BABY" or ("BEBE" for Spanish) to 511411 receive
weekly text messages (timed to their due date or their baby's birth
date) throughout pregnancy and up until baby's first birthday.
GW's School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) has
partnered with National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition
to support enrollment in Text4baby. GW students have been working
to promote and enroll Washington,
D.C., families in the greatest need in the Text4baby
service. Just last month during the school's Day of Service, SPHHS students visited
businesses in three District wards with the highest infant
mortality rates in an effort to sign women up for the program.
Donated phones and other devices do not have to be in working
condition, and they will all go through a process to remove any
personal information stored on the device. Accessories, such
as chargers do not need to be donated with the
device.
Riders can drop off their portable electronic devices in special
collection boxes staffed by volunteers wearing blue
"GW+Phones=Hope" T-shirts from 7 to 9:30
a.m. at stations in D.C, Maryland and Virginia.
SOURCE George Washington
University