Dear JASCers,

A fellow JASC alumnus, Lucky Gunasekara (JASC 56, 57), has shared an opportunity for you to think globally and act locally through his work with FrontlineSMS:Medic. 

Last week, FrontlineSMS:Medic launched hopephones.org, which is a partnership between the Wireless Source, FrontlineSMS:Medic and Wieden+Kennedy, the chief ad agency behind the "Just Do It" campaign.

The goal is to collect at least 100 phones a day from all over the country as every day nearly 450,000 phones are trashed in the U.S.  Through the Wireless Source, each processed phone will be recycled or refurbished to provide credit for FrontlineSMS:Medic to purchase appropriate low-cost handsets from Nokia.   

For example, each BlackBerry donated provides 5 low-cost Nokias to give to clinical partners such as Partners in Health, the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, Grameen Healthcare and BRAC.   

At the end of a successful first week, 600 high-end phones were donated.  It’s a great start, but partners in Mali, Bangladesh, India and Thailand still need handsets.

In the fall, FrontlineSMS:Medic will also release a low-cost $2 iPhone app where user fees allow the organization to subsidize the SMS costs for partners. 
 
Visit www.HopePhones.org for more information.