Advances in wireless technology and mobile telecommunications services would make Alexander Graham Bell’s head spin. Today’s consumers have embraced the miracles of modern day gadgets and gizmos and have come to expect better, faster products to continually show up in the marketplace. Cellular phones seem as ubiquitous in the 21st century as indoor plumbing did in the last.
Iowans from all walks of life are embracing high technology to maintain instant accessibility and personal security, enhance work performance, improve productivity, and simply keep pace with our fast-paced society. Take it from me. On weekends, I take every opportunity to return home and help out on my 700-acre farm in Butler County. Tucking my cell phone underneath my seed cap ensures I’m just a phone call away. This gives my family and I peace of mind in case an emergency should arise. And on more than one occasion, I’ve engaged in policy negotiations with White House and congressional leaders from the cab of my tractor.
But in some situations, a wireless telephone is more than a modern day tool catering to workplace demands and personal convenience. It can mean the difference between life or death. A national philanthropic program initiated by members of the Wireless Foundation, a non-profit consortium launched in 1993 by cellular phone and Internet service providers, and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is working to assist victims of domestic violence. The organizers of the program work to promote public awareness about the prevalence of domestic violence and fund outreach and prevention programs to help victims of domestic assault and abuse.
For the last several years, they have worked together to reach as many Americans as possible to solicit donations of unused cell phones. The phones are then sold, refurbished or recycled. Proceeds from the donated phone sales are used to buy wireless handsets for victims of domestic violence and to support the organization’s efforts to support domestic violence shelters and prevention programs.
Donated phones are distributed to help women who are making the transition from living in an abusive situation to reclaiming safety and independence. A wireless phone empowers the victims of domestic violence by giving them a lifeline to emergency assistance should they need it. And donated services such as voice mail messaging can be helpful in their search to find employment. More than one million wireless phones have been donated from people across the country.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. And I’m pleased to salute an agency from Northeast Iowa that since 1992 has provided services to women and children who are forced to abandon their homes to escape domestic violence. In October I’ll co-host a reception in Washington, D.C. benefiting the Cedar Valley Friends of the Family, a non-profit organization that provides victims with shelter, transitional housing, job training, medical care, transportation, court advocacy, and life skills training in Bremer, Butler and Chickasaw counties in Iowa. Agencies like the Cedar Valley Friends of the Family provide hope to those whose lives have been shattered by abuse. Throughout the last decade, women and children in Northeast Iowa have benefited from its confidential guidance services and life-building resources that steer them on the road to recovery, independence and dignity.
Joining in the effort to help victims of assault and abuse in households across the country – in urban, rural and suburban America – I am launching a collection campaign with members of the Wireless Foundation in Iowa. My six state offices will serve as drop-off sites for persons interested in recycling their wireless phones for a neighbor in need. I encourage Iowans to clean out their drawers and donate an unused cell phone. The Wireless Foundation estimates at least 60 million handsets collect dust as consumers continue to upgrade or change service providers.
This is a worthy campaign that can make a difference for a woman making the transition from a life filled with fear to a life free of abuse. Armed with a cell phone, a victim of domestic violence knows she has a potentially life-saving tool at her fingertips. Iowans can turn a simple act of recycling a cell phone into an act of extraordinary good works. This philanthropic program helps victims of domestic violence cross the bridge that enables them to get a fresh start and rebuild a new life.
Iowans interested in donating their retired cell phone can drop it off in person or mail it to my Washington office or any of my six state offices located in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Sioux City or Waterloo. Donated phones are tax deductible.
Washington, D.C.: 135 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-1501; 202/224-3744
Cedar Rapids: 206 Federal Building, 101 First Street, S.E., Cedar Rapids, 52401; 319/363-6832
Council Bluffs: 307 Federal Building, 8 South Sixth St., Council Bluffs, 51501; 712/322-7103
Davenport: 131 West Third St., Suite 180, Davenport, 52801; 563/322-4331
Des Moines: 721 Federal Building, 210 Walnut St., Des Moines, 50309; 515/284-4890
Sioux City: 103 Federal Building, 320 Sixth St., Sioux City, 51101; 712/233-1860
Waterloo: 210 Waterloo Building; 531 Commercial, Waterloo, 50701; 319/232-6657