Members of the George Washington University community will collect used cell phones and portable electronic devices like laptops and iPods during the April 25 morning rush-hour commute at 15 of Metro’s busiest stations. The university is teaming up with Metro for the culminating effort of its GW + Phones = Hope campaign, a commitment made in the run-up to hosting the Clinton Global Initiative University in March.
In partnership with the Hope Phones organization, the donated devices will be recycled and the proceeds will fund maternal and child health mobile technology projects in Mali, Malawi and Nepal.
“This event is the culmination of a six-month campaign that will literally save lives in the developing world,” said GW President Steven Knapp. “I am grateful to everyone within and beyond our university community who has stepped up to this important challenge.”
In addition to collecting used cell phones, GW volunteers will also distribute information about Text4baby, the country’s largest mobile health information service. It supports mothers by providing accurate, text-length health information and resources in a format that is personal and timely. Pregnant women and new mothers who text “baby” (or “bebe” in 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 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.
Those who wish to volunteer to staff a collection box at a Metro station from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on April 25 can sign up here. Volunteers will check in at Eye Street Mall near the Foggy Bottom Metro stop at 6:30 a.m., and will receive breakfast, a complimentary roundtrip Metrocard, a GW + Phones = Hope T-shirt and a commemorative 2012 Clinton Global Initiative University T-shirt. Additionally, any volunteers who are graduating this spring will be entered into a drawing to win six reserved seats for Commencement on the National Mall. All other volunteers, including non-graduating students, will be entered into a drawing to win two tickets to two “Lisner Presents” performances for the fall season.
Participating Metro stations include: Capitol South, Dupont Circle, Farragut North, Farragut West, Federal Triangle, Foggy Bottom, Franconia-Springfield, Gallery Place-Chinatown, L’Enfant Plaza, McPherson Square, Metro Center, New Carrollton, Pentagon City, Rosslyn and Union Station.
All donated used cell phones will be wiped of any personal information and do not need to be in working condition.