More than 150,000 troops are serving in the Middle East and are away from their families.The Middle Tennessee Chapter of Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), working with Cell Phones For Soldiers, is calling on area residents to offer support for these brave men and women by donating discarded cell phones. Each cell phone donated equals approximately 60 minutes of prepaid call time for an airman, marine, seaman, or soldier. The Military Officers Association of America’s goal through the efforts of its chapters across the United States is to amass 1 Million prepaid calling minutes for our troops by January 31, 2012.

U. S. consumers retire 130 million cell phones annually with only 10% of those recycled. The remaining phones are in drawers, closets, garages, and attics. Please locate the phones you have retired and donate them to this worthy cause.

What To Recycle: Cell phones, blackberries, palms, etc. AND their chargers, etc. (if you have it).

What Not To Recycle: Chargers without the matching cell phones, old land-line phones, and other electronic equipment.

How Does This Work? All donated phones are checked for existing data and “erased” prior to shipping the cell phones to the recycler. The recycler pays CPFS for the phones, and CPFS purchases prepaid calling cards for disbursement to the deployed uniform service members. Some phones can be reconditioned and resold to wholesale companies in over 40 countries around the world. Phones and components that cannot be refurbished are dismantled and recycled to reclaim materials, including:

• Gold, silver and platinum from circuit boards
• Copper wiring from phone chargers
• Nickel, iron, cadmium and lead from battery packs
• Plastic from phone cases and accessories

You can ask extended family, friends, co-workers, etc. to donate their retired cell phones to our collection box too. A Donation Receipt is available for your donation if you need one.

If you have more questions about the cell phone collection project or to host a collection box with the Middle TN Chapter of MOAA, please contact Patricia Bergquist at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 948-4960. Patricia is the Auxiliary Liaison for the Middle TN Chapter and a member of the Auxiliary Member Advisory Committee for MOAA National.

Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded in 2004 by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., with $21 of their own money. Since then, the registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator has raised millions of dollars in donations and distributed millions of prepaid calling cards to troops serving overseas. The need for our support continues as more troops are sent to the Middle East or asked to serve extended tours of duty.

The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with headquarters in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The Association works to preserve and protect the entitlements and benefits of our active duty personnel, retirees, their families, and survivors.

Membership in the Association is open to current or retired officers: Commissioned Officers, Commissioned Warrant Officers, and Warrant Officers – regular, reserve, National Guard, and components of the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Public Health Service. Widows/Widowers of deceased members or a deceased person who would be eligible, if living, are also eligible to join. If you would like more information about membership in the Middle Tennessee Chapter, please contact: COL Doug Minton, USA (Ret) at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 615-415-6816. For more information on the cell phone project, contact Patricia Bergquist at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 615-948-4960.

For those not eligible for membership in the Middle TN Chapter of MOAA, the MOAA organization offers an online membership, “Voices For Troops”, to members of the public, age 18 and older, who share our interest in maintaining a strong national defense and sustained support systems for our military members, families, and survivors.Please visit http://www.voicesfortroops.org

Leading the Class in Quality Cell Phone Repair

Murfreesboro TN - The cell phone repair business is beginning to become more and more popular as the cost of new phones continues to rise. It is much more cost effective to repair broken phones than it would be to purchase a new phone out of contract. Here at First Class Cell Phone Repair we are trying to bring higher quality service to the Murfreesboro area while maintaining a competitive price. We aim to provide honest and knowledgeable advice to our customers to help them make the best decisions for their situation. Sometimes it is cheaper to replace older phones than to repair them. We always break it down for customers and give them all the options before they make any decisions.

We offer free diagnosis and we can repair all brands of cell phones and smart phones including the iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4. We also repair other small electronic devices like iPods and the Nintendo DS. Some of the things we can fix would be: cracked screens, water damage, battery and charging problems, keypad and antenna issues, speakers, microphones, cameras and sim card readers. We offer a warranty on all repair work which is what sets us apart from other cell phone repair centers. We also have a cell phone buyback program. We will pay cash for your gently used phones, and we will responsibly recycle the phones we are unable to buy.

Our hours are 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. Monday through Friday and 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. on Saturday. You can call or stop by the store at your convenience. We are located at 225-L North Rutherford Blvd. in Murfreesboro, TN 37130. You can also email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or check us out on the web at www.firstclasscellrepair.com for more information.