cell phones for safety

as i no longer am headed to The District this weekend, i have made other plans. [how very resilient i am...] since i am still mildly sick, i will hold off on sharing my plans until i return. no fears though. my mommy says i can go.

today's fun news:
semi-annually, i send out an email at my work soliciting unwanted cell phones. i started this two years ago and have collected phones twice before. i missed this spring, but sent my fall email out a week or so ago. over the 7-10 days following an email the phones appear and multiply like tribbles-- on my desk, in my mailbox, in the rounds room of whatever service i am on. after about 10 days or when my trunk is full, i head on down to The Body Shop and unload the phones for The Wireless Foundation. some of the phones are refurbished or sold and the money donated to stop domestic violence. many of the phones, after refurbishment, are given to victims of domestic violence so that, no matter where they are should an oppressor return, they can always call 911. this is especially important when a victim is first trying to leave an abuser:
-"65% of intimate homicide victims physically separated from the perpetrator prior to their death."
-"Separated/divorced women are 14 times more likely than married women to report having been a victim of violence by their spouse or ex-spouse."

today was drop day. the first time there were ~130 phones. each time since, i end up with about 80 phones. so. my little emails and the generosity and mindfulness of my co-workers have led to repurposement of ~290 phones for victims of domestic violence. it is amazing how much we can do with so little effort when we work together as a community.

leaves me humbled and smiley.

for more information on domestic violence, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is a good place to start.

for help escaping a violent situation, call 911 or go to your nearest Safe Place to escape an immediately dangerous situation and then contact NCADV for resources.

if you would like to mount a cell phone campaign of your own but need a little more guidance (or would like to be a little more sophisticated than me), click here to visit the Body Shop's cell phone campaign page.