Cell phone donation: Do a good deed on Family Day

On the occasion of SOS Children’s Villages Family Day, Swisscom is providing a cellphone collection box. Donating your old mobile allows you to make a gesture in favor of underprivileged children.

Many unused devices lie dormant in the bottom of the drawers of Swiss homes. However, they contain valuable raw materials that can be recycled. Donating helps help children and families in need.

Since 2012, used devices can be donated through Swisscom’s Mobile Aid circular economy program. Unused mobiles – whether defective or not – can simply be placed in a Mobile Aid collection box available in Swisscom Shops.

Cell phone donation on Family Day

The SOS Children’s Villages Family Day will take place on June 22, 2024 on Waisenhausplatz in Bern. The objective is to offer a warm home to deprived children and to help vulnerable families.

This year again, Swisscom will make a mobile collection box available on Family Day. Visitors will be able to drop off their used devices there and thus make a valuable contribution to the donation campaign.

How it works

Once the mobile phone is handed over to Swisscom, all personal data is completely deleted. It is recommended to reset the laptop to factory defaults before giving it away.

Swisscom resells functional devices and recycles defective phones in order to reintroduce raw materials into the circuit. Non-recyclable components are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. Swisscom donates all proceeds from sales and recycling to the SOS Children’s Villages Switzerland Foundation.

Help for children in Nicaragua

The SOS Children’s Villages Switzerland foundation supports children in the province of Estelí, Nicaragua, and creates social assistance structures. Donations have already made it possible to finance more than five million meals for children and to build nurseries and schools.

Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in South America and its history is marked by numerous popular revolts and revolutions. A large part of its population is exposed to poverty, hunger and violence. Children are the first victims of these social scourges.

Despite all efforts to ensure their protection, gaps in legislation and natural disasters hamper the implementation of children’s rights. Many children and families are therefore dependent on humanitarian aid.

Return to the circuit

The smartphone is too often replaced by a new model while the old one is still technically operational. Too many defective devices end up forgotten in a drawer, leaving their valuable raw materials unused.

The manufacturing of smartphones pollutes the environment. It is therefore important to use the devices for as long as possible and to reintroduce the raw materials they contain into the circuit by recycling them. Mobile Aid allows the reuse and recycling of raw materials and helps deprived children.

Have fun and do a good deed

Alongside the cell phone collection organized by Swisscom, Family Day will be punctuated by numerous activities. On the program: entertainment, fun, culinary delights and music. Games for children will present in a fun way the work of SOS Children’s Villages and the benefits of donating your cell phone.

From 10 a.m., the artist Aunt Carmen, an eight-meter high climbing mountain and a giant matching game, among other activities, will make children’s eyes light up. More information on the event: SOS Children’s Villages: Family Day.

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