Feb. 14, 2013 — To provide a way those serving in the military to call home more often, the Soaring Eagle Blue Star Moms will be holding a Cell Phones for Soldiers Drive.

The collection starts Monday, Feb. 18 through Sunday, Feb. 24. People can drop off their old cell phones at donation boxes at Diamond Mountain Casino,   the Lassen County Clerk’s Office at the historic courthouse, suite 5, Sierra Jewelry Company and the Golden 1 Credit Union.

The phones will be sent to Cell Phones for Soldiers (CPFS) an organization that provides free talk time to soldiers by recycling the phones and using the funds to purchase prepaid calling cards.

On an average, 13,000 cards are mailed to military personnel overseas each week. Founded in 2004, CPFS is a nonprofit organization and has provided more than 150 million minutes of free talk time to U.S. military personnel.

According to Darla Brown, of the Soaring Eagle Blue Star Moms, a majority of the cell phones the military men and women have are no good unless they have an international plan, which most don’t because it’s so expensive. So, they have to get international calling cards and some would not get to call home as often if they did not have them.

In October, the Blue Star Moms also received 1,629 cellular phones confiscated from the California Correctional Center and High Desert State Prison, which were also sent to the CPFS.

For more information, call Brown at 260-2922.