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Your Old Phone = Hope Phone

A while back I briefly mentioned FrontlineSMS:Medic – an initiative started by post-grad students out of Stanford University who had done some really interesting things in Malawi. They are the type of entrepreneurial digital natives that buck tradition and do something different, something that actually works.

Hope Phones - logoThat same team has built a major campaign, Hope Phones, to gather unused and discarded mobile phone handsets and convert them into funds for use in their mobile health campaigns in Malawi and elsewhere in Africa.

“Hope Phones will make use of the nearly 450,000 cell phones discarded every day in the US. HopePhones.org allows donors to print a free shipping label and send their old phone in to The Wireless Source, a global leader in wireless device recycling. The phone’s value allows FrontlineSMS:Medic to purchase usable, recycled cell phones for healthcare workers.”

This is a fundraising campaign, one put in place to promote a project that already has a track record of working.

Get involved:

1. Visit www.HopePhones.org and donate your old phones.
2. Spread the word:

  • Email your friends, family, classmates and coworkers.
  • Post on Facebook and become a fan of the Hope Phones page.
  • Tell the world on Twitter – use #HopePhones as a tag so we can thank you.
  • Let us know if you want the Hope Phones widget for your website or blog.

3. Contact info@hopephones.org if you’d like to help set up a Hope Phones collection center.

HopePhones.org

Posted in Mobile. Tagged with , , , , , , , , .

By Erik Hersman
18 May 2009

7 comments

7 Responses

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  1. Josh Nesbit said
    on 18 May 2009

    Hi Erik,

    Many thanks for putting this out there. It obviously means a lot to have your support!

    All the best,

    Josh

  2. Upbids said
    on 17 August 2010

    This is amazing, very good article. thanks

  3. business phone system said
    on 3 November 2010

    I think this is really a great way to help this Africans people.Each one of us are going to dump the old phone and take a new one this is very intelligent way to help the other people i really appreciate this article.

  4. jan said
    on 20 November 2011

    This is amazing, very good article. thanks
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Continuing the Discussion

  1. Recycling your old technology and saving lives « Smart People I Know linked to this post on 18 May 2009

    [...] 18, 2009 · No Comments Speaking of recycling, the excellent blog Ushahidi has a great idea for anyone with an old cell phone they want to replace. The organization Hope [...]

  2. Global Health Ideas linked to this post on 18 May 2009

    [...] “Donating your old phone is easier than the Three Delays Model.  Here’s their website: http://www.HopePhones.org (twitter: @HopePhones).  You just have to print off their pre-paid shipping labels. For further reading, check out Nathaniel Whittemore’s detailed post: Your Old Phone can Change the World. ” You can also visit one of the brains behind the idea, Josh Nesbit, on his site, I am sure he would appreciate feedback (image credit: ushahidi). [...]

  3. mHealth (mobile health for development) links « Global Health Ideas linked to this post on 19 May 2009

    [...] “Donating your old phone is easier than the Three Delays Model.  Here’s their website: http://www.HopePhones.org (twitter: @HopePhones).  You just have to print off their pre-paid shipping labels. For further reading, check out Nathaniel Whittemore’s detailed post: Your Old Phone can Change the World. ” You can also visit one of the brains behind the idea, Josh Nesbit, on his site, I am sure he would appreciate feedback (image credit: ushahidi). [...]

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