Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller Sharon Bock again is asking Palm Beach County residents, business owners, government offices and others to donate their used cell phones and phone chargers to the clerkâs office for its annual cell phone drive for victims of domestic abuse.
As part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, Bock is collecting phones and chargers to be distributed among three local domestic violence shelters: Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, the Florida Resource Center for Women and Children and the YWCAâs Harmony House.
Phones and chargers can be donated at the self-service center on the second floor of the main courthouse in West Palm Beach, or at courthouse branch locations in Delray Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Belle Glade. Donations will be accepted from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31.
âSo many of us have phones sitting in a desk drawer or in a box, and these shelters can put them to good use,â Bock said. âDomestic abuse victims can use these phones to make lifesaving emergency calls, or let family members know that theyâre safe. Iâm asking anyone who has an old phone to please consider giving it to someone who really needs it.â
After the clerkâs office delivers the phones to the agencies, they are sent to be refurbished. The agencies then give the phones to their clients so they can make emergency calls. The phones also can be connected with service providers so abuse victims can use the phones for other calls as well.
Phones that canât be refurbished will be recycled, with money going back to the domestic violence agencies to help them continue their vital work within the community.
This is the seventh year that the clerkâs office has collected cell phones for local domestic violence shelters. The office collected 342 phones last year.
The clerkâs office is often a first stop for many domestic abuse victims, who visit the office to file injunctions against their abusers.
For more information about the clerkâs office, visit www.mypalmbeachclerk.com or call (561) 355-2996.
