Starship Foundation's innovative Mobile Phone Appeal so far has raised a whopping $500,000 since it launched in February this year.

 

The Starship Mobile Phone Appeal asks New Zealanders to donate their old mobile phones to help raise money for Starship Children's Hospital. The appeal is being run in partnership with Irish recycling company Folamh.

 

"We are thrilled to have raised half a million dollars for Starship in only 10 months. Thank you to the thousands of people from right across the country who have sent in their old mobile phones," says Andrew Young, CEO of Starship Foundation. "I should add that there is no end date to the Mobile Phone Appeal – so if people keep sending us their old mobile phones, I'm confident we'll hit the $1 million mark before too long!"

 

Five year old Starship patient Jaden Movold is just one of the patients who could benefit from such equipment.  Jaden was born with spina bifida and a number of complicated spinal conditions.  He has metal rods inserted in his back to straighten his spine and will require an operation every six months to insert new rods until he is fully grown.

 

The money raised from the Mobile Phone Appeal is being used to pay for priority needs at Starship such as lifesaving equipment through to vital paediatric research. But beyond that, there is also the added benefit of preventing these old phones from ending up in landfill and polluting the environment.

 

Once the phones are donated, they are recorded, graded and stored before being sent to places such as Hong Kong, China or Eastern Europe where they are checked, reprogrammed, repackaged and sold.

 

Folamh donates 60% of proceeds from the sale of phones to Starship. "The beauty of this whole campaign is that the recycling company in Ireland assumes all of the financial risk and pays for the expenses – so whatever proceeds come into Starship Foundation can be spent directly on what is needed for the children," says Mr Young. "Plus, in these difficult economic times, Starship is pleased to be offering another way to donate, other than just cash."

 

The public can donate phones using freepost appeal envelopes which are distributed through newspapers nationwide and are available from any branch of ASB, The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Barfoot & Thompson and all Telecom stores.  Find out more about the Starship Mobile Phone Appeal and how you can help here.

 

Starship's Mobile Phone Appeal is supported by ASB, Barfoot & Thompson, Mercury Energy, NZ Bus, New Zealand Post, Telecom New Zealand, The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Sky TV, Chevron NZ, Ticketmaster, Wyatt & Wilson, DDB and various national media outlets.