FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Heather B. Habelka, Office of the Mayor, 203.385.4001 

HELP SOLDIERS CALL HOME BY RECYCLING USED CELL PHONES
Town of Stratford and Liberty Tax Service Partner to Support Cell Phones for Soldiers

Stratford, Conn. (March 15, 2006) - Your old cell phone can mean a call home for a soldier. Liberty Tax Service, in partnership with the Town of Stratford, is collecting used cell phones as a National Premier Partner for Cell Phones for Soldiers.

Cell Phones for Soldiers is dedicated to helping soldiers stationed in Iraq and overseas afford to call loved ones. All phones are recycled to purchase phone calling cards. Every donated phone can buy a calling card up to 100 minutes.

“I urge all residents to donate their used cell phones as a way to support our men and women serving in Iraq,” said Mayor James R. Miron. “This simple donation will provide our troops with the opportunity to stay in contact with their loved ones.”

Collection boxes are located throughout Stratford’s Town Hall in the offices of the Assessor, Town Clerk and Registrar of Voters. Collection boxes are also located in the Town Council Chambers, the Mayor’s Office and in Stratford’s Fire Headquarters located on Main Street.

“Since Liberty joined forces with Cell Phones for Soldiers in late 2004, our offices have collected over 42,000 phones providing 4.2 million minutes of calling time,” said John Hewitt, CEO and Founder of Liberty Tax Service. “The need continues, and this is a year-round project for us.”

Cell Phones for Soldiers is a non-profit organization that recycles used cell phones and issues phone calling cards for soldiers. The concept was the brainstorm of 13-year old Brittany Bergquist and her 12-year-old brother Robbie of Norwell, Massachusetts. They were disturbed after hearing a news story about an American soldier in Iraq with a staggering phone bill. They started Cell Phones for Soldiers (www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com) with snack money, and have recruited sponsors and cell phone companies to help.

Liberty Tax Service (www.libertytax.com) welcomes other businesses to participate, and will provide collection boxes and ship phones collected back to Cell Phones for Soldiers. Check www.libertytax.com for locations, or e-mail guerrilla@libtax.com. Liberty Tax Service has served 3 million customers, and has over 2,000 offices operating in the United States and Canada. The company provides free tax advice and free checking of self-prepared returns at each office. In January 2006, Entrepreneur magazine ranked Liberty Tax Service as number 10 on its Franchise 500 overall list of best franchises. Accounting Today magazine ranked Liberty fastest growing on its list of top 100 tax & accounting companies released in March 2005.

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