Cell phone drive raises money for domestic abuse victims

The University Subcommittee on Sexual Assault and Dating/Domestic Violence is hosting a cell phone drive until Monday, March 1 to raise money for Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS) of Dane County.

The drive, which kicked off at the beginning of February, encourages the campus community to remove personal information and dump their old cell phones in one of many bins around campus.

The phones will be donated to the Shelter Alliance, which will recycle them in an environmentally friendly way, and send a check for up to $40 a phone to the Subcommittee on Sexual Assault and Dating/Domestic Violence.

The subcommittee will then donate the funds to DAIS.

“We’ve worked very closely with DAIS in the past,” says subcommittee co-chair and International Student Services advisor Kristin Hildebrandt “They’re an excellent community partner. They attend our meetings. They provide services to a lot of people in the community but also to our students, so we’ve worked closely with them to get the word out about their services and the fact that they are available for everyone.”

Hildebrandt hopes to collect at least 500 phones and donate more than $5,000, which is about what they’ve raised in the past few years.

“People turn their cell phones over on a regular basis,” she says. “It’s not just going into a landfill. It’s not only being recycled, but then money is going to help victims of domestic abuse. So I think it’s a really personal way to make a difference.”

Phones can be dropped off at the front desks of all UW Residence Halls and several other locations:

Dean of Students Office (75 Bascom)
Eagle Heights (Community Center)
Fetzer Academic Center (UW Athletics)
School of Pharmacy (1203 Rennebohm Hall)
International Student Services (217 Red Gym)
Kellner Hall (UW Athletics)
Center for Leadership and Involvement (239 Red Gym)
All Ancora coffee shops

Participants are asked only to donate their phones, not their chargers or other electronics.