This year is starting out really well.  A special thank you to our new participants that made the top ten list, which were various Goodwill Industry locations. We appreciate everyone’s hard work and every effort put forth.

 Goodwill of Tacoma, WA

Goodwill Industries of SE Wisconsin, WI

Cook County Sheriff’s Office, IL

Harbor House, FL

T-N-T Communications, IL

Goodwill Industries of Central NC, NC

Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan, MI

Panhandle Telecommunications, OK

Goodwill of the Coastal Empire, GA

Clarion PAWS Pet Adoption and Welfare Society, PA

• Unified Communications
• The Social Enterprise – New!
• Mobility
• Planning/Implementing IP Telephony
• SIP and SIP Trunking
• Video and Collaboration
• The Cloud and Virtualization
• Managing Costs, Technology and People

The Enterprise Connect Expo is the only place where all the leading suppliers can be found in one location. Special Offer: Use this link to register today and save $1000 off the onsite price for the 3 or 4 Day conference package or a FREE Expo Plus pass.

Hope to see you there!

This new program, currently in development, will provide cell phones with regular monthly airtime. If you would like more information on how you can get involved please call your 911 Cell Phone Bank representative at 866-290-7864.

We are going to award the participating agency with the most popular comment on our Facebook page a $100 gift card. 

Here’s how to participate:

• First, visit www.facebook.com/911CellPhoneBank and “like” our page.
• Then post a comment about  your participation in the 911 Cell Phone Bank program and be sure to mention the name of your agency. Something like…“The XYZ Agency has been a participant since 2005 and we love the program because…”. 
• Next, invite your Facebook friends to “like’ our page, AND “like” or comment on your comment. The Agency with the most combined “likes” and comments will get the $100 Gift Card.

Have questions? Call us for answers at 866-290-7864. As always, thanks for your support!

***UPDATE*** Each Facebook “like” earns us a minute of airtime! [more]

Work continues on an annual report however, because of thin resources, there is no firm completion date.

During the NSA conference last week I met the folks at MPH Industries. While I was visiting their booth several members of law enforcement came up asking about the MUVI-LE. Curious, I asked what all the buzz was about.

Eric Ruud and Brian Stafford were happy to show me their latest product offering. The smallest digital video/audio recorder on the market – the MUVI-LE. It was very cool and I saw the reason for the excitement immediately. 

The MUVI-LE is about 2 inches long with a 2 mega pixel camera and about 5 hours of battery life. Brian and Eric said that patrol officers love it since it’s inexpensive ($150) and it gives them a digital record of what they encountered during the day. 

The MUVI’s value to law enforcement is a no brainer. But I also thought volunteers, victim advocates and case workers could use them too. Anytime you want to record a conversation, meeting or interview for your records, this is a great product. Simply download the video file to your computer everyday for a permanent record of your activities. The best part is it is inexpensive…reasonable enough anyone can buy it for themselves if their agency won’t foot the bill.

You might not have to buy one, MPH Industries generously provided one to the 911 Cell Phone Bank as a contest giveaway. Click here to enter the contest.

For more info on how to purchase this cool video recorder contact MPH Industries at 888-689-9222 or visit their online store.

We think it’s time to do a little more. Over the last few months we have been researching ways we can provide cell phones WITH airtime and we would like to get your feedback.

First let me say that our original emergency only cell phone program is NOT going away. I know there are several organizations that rely on this service and it is our staple offering so don’t worry it’s here to stay.

Now let me explain how the new program would work. Our research shows that your Agency would have to send in TEN (10) cell phones to receive either a pre-paid cell phone kit OR 60 minutes of pre-paid airtime.

• A pre-paid cell phone kit would have 1 refurbished cell phone, 2 batteries, 1 charger, free activation and 60 minutes of prepaid airtime.
• 60 minutes of pre-paid airtime could only be used be used for previously activated pre-paid cell phone kits you received from us. These pre-paid cell phones would have to have at least 60 minutes of prepaid airtime added to them each month to remain active.

Let’s say you operate a women’s shelter and you want to have 5 pre-paid cell phone kits to keep on hand for the use of your residents. To receive the 5 pre-paid cell phone kits you would have to send in 50 cell phones collected from your community. Then 50 collected cell phones each month to receive 60 minutes of prepaid airtime and keep the phones active.

The pre-paid cell phone kits you receive can be used as you see fit…give them to volunteers, employees, victims, seniors, keep them for spares…whatever will help you meet your mission.

Please take just 5 minutes to take an online survey about this upcoming program to help us with its development.

To take the survey CLICK HERE!

If your company has a passion for helping your community give Bob a call. We don’t look for money from our partners. Since our operations are funded completely by cell phone recycling, your cell phone donations are what matter. Bob will help you determine what level of Partnership you qualify for. Give him a quick call or email (bmikler@911cellphonebank.org) to see how we can both benefit from a Partnership.

First, our long distance provider neglected to transfer our main toll free number in a timely manner. This means that most of you have been experiencing a busy signal for the last few days. They told us two days ago it may take up to 48 hours. It is still busy today, but we’re working on that. In the meantime if you want to call on our local lines the numbers listed below:

352-512-0150 – Main Line

352-512-0171 – Darlene

352-512-0172 – Bob

352-512-0173 – Kathy

352-512-0174 – Barbara

352-512-0175 – Joyce

Next, our servers were hacked. This has resulted in occasional interruptions of service on our website and our tracking system (TotalTrak.net). Our IT guru says that it is fixed and we should be okay from this point forward, but for some reason hackers like us so we won’t hold our breath.

Also, please note that our shipping address has changed to 3741 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, Fl 34470, however our mailing address is still 4421 NW Blitchton Rd., #324, Ocala, FL  34482.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused!

Can you have an office collection? Many companies are “going green”, a cell phone collection can help you meet green goals and help provide vulnerable residents in your community with a feeling of security.

Can students help? Many of the law enforcement agencies that we have partnered with call on their School Resource Offices to organize a collection in local schools. 

Can your supporters help? We have found that many of the agencies we deal with have loyal supporters and deep roots in their community. Sometimes just reaching out to your contacts with a different message can be just what’s needed to spark excitement.  

You can be part of Earth Day 2010 by arranging a cell phone collection. The Earth Day Network has list of events on its website. If you want to post your event here is the link – http://www.earthday.net/node/8976.

We have created a poster that you can download and print. We also have headers for collection boxes if you will be having events. Please call your CSR for details on those.

Generic Earth Day Poster