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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Melanie Sloan
                                                                                                Phones 4 Loans
                                                                                                (970) 406-1572
                                                                                                Melanies@engr.colostate.edu
 
Phones4Loans Inaugural Cell Phone Drive a Success!
 
The first annual used cell phone and accessory drive, Phones4Loans, ended April 30th.  The student led project, developed in the Social and Sustainable Entrepreneurship class in the College of Business, collected and resold unwanted cell phones and accessories to generate funds for entrepreneurs in developing countries.
 
“We were able to collect over 300 cell phones which will initially provide business capital to a dozen low income entrepreneurs in the developing world.  As the loans are repaid, more entrepreneurs will be chosen and the lending will continue indefinitely” said Melanie Sloan, spokesperson for the group. 
 
The project received outstanding support from students, businesses, local media and the community at large.  “Road 34 and Walrus Ice Cream really stepped up by offering freebies to anyone who brought in a used cell phone for recycling.  Several businesses and the colleges on campus sponsored collection boxes, too.  It was amazing to see the support and the success it brought to the project in the way of donated phones” said Joe Thompson, who worked on events and sponsorship for the project.
 
To ensure the project is sustainable, the group recruited the Environmental Health Student Association to take over next year.  “It was a great learning experience for our class to be able to take an idea to a reality.  It will be even better to see that reality continue at CSU” said Emily Spencer a student from the class.
 
If you have a cell phone you would like to donate, you may do so by donating to Collective Good, via this link:  http://www.collectivegood.com/donate2.asp?CHid=417.
All proceeds will be credited to Phones4Loans.
 
For more information about the project, please visit the website:  www.Phones4Loans.org.

 
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              Contact for Reporters:

April 7, 2008                                                               Emily Narvaes Wilmsen

                                                                                    (970) 491-2336

                                                                                    Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu

 

                                                                                    Or

 

                                                                                    Melanie Sloan

                                                                                    Phones 4 Loans

                                                                                    (970) 406-1572

                                                                                    Melanies@engr.colostate.edu

                                                                                   

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS LAUNCH CELL PHONE DRIVE IN THE COMMUNITY

 

FORT COLLINS – Unused cell phones are worth more than their spare parts - they can help fund loans for low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world, says a group of Colorado State University students who will collect the phones in April.

Students will conduct a used-cell phone drive called Phones 4 Loans as part of their Social and Sustainable Entrepreneurship class.

“These students wanted real impact they could see and measure, and the class project had three components- making money from cleaning up a problem, spending it on an effective program, and building something that would last beyond the semester.  By combining these elements, they came up with the idea of Phones4Loans,” said Paul Hudnut, the class’ instructor.

 Beginning this week, recycling boxes will be placed around campus and in locations in Fort Collins. Phones can be recycled along with batteries and accessories through April 30.

“Fewer than 10 percent of cell phones are recycled,” said Melanie Sloan, a student spokeswoman for Phones4Loans. “We want to help the environment and help those in need at the same time.  Cell phones make up the fastest growing waste stream and can become hazardous to the environment and people if not properly disposed since they contain substances such as lead, mercury and plastics.”

All phones and accessories collected will be shipped to Collective Good, a Colorado-based non-profit organization that re-sells or recycles cell phones, with all profits paid to the charitable organization selected by Phones 4 Loans.

CSU students chose the charitable organization Kiva, a  popular internet service for microfinance loans in the developing world.  More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in developing countries and less than 5 percent of all private capital funding is aimed at these countries. The small loans provided by microfinance to low-income entrepreneurs in these countries, via Kiva, will work to correct that imbalance. 

Most  funds loaned by Kiva are repaid (Kiva boasts an impressive 99.86 percent repayment rate), which means the Phones 4 Loans proceeds will continue to help microentrepreneurs for years to come. The students will set up a social network site to make loan decisions and track the borrowers once the class is over.

“Getting to apply what we learned in class to design and do this project has been a great way for us to learn by doing, and to make a difference. We hope to collect 1,000 phones to fund our loan portfolio” said Rachel Hansen, a member of the class.

For more information check out www.Phones4Loans.org.