Since 2009 Sasktel's Phones for a Fresh Start program has been in partnership with the Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services Saskatchewan (PATHS).

Phones for a Fresh Start collects and recycles old and used cell phones, and they use the proceeds generated to donate prepaid phone cards and cell phones to the 21 PATHS shelter agencies in the province.

In total, the program has managed to donate 2,610 cell phones and over $70,000 in prepaid card to PATHS.

Recently the program hit a huge milestone of collecting over 100,000 phones, and they are celebrating by holding a drive to hopefully get more people to donate their old cells.

"We're having a cell phone drive where we're encouraging everyone in Saskatchewan to go through their junk drawers or their filing cabinets and find that old phone that they don't have any more use for and then bring it down to a SaskTel store or authorized dealer location and donate it to the Phones for a Fresh Start program so that it can go to help a great cause," explained Greg Jacobs, External Communication Manager with SaskTel.

SaskTel's Phones for a Fresh Start also provided that industry research shows that there could be as many as 690,000 cellular devices stored in Saskatchewan homes, yet only 10 per cent are recycled in the province each year. As cellular devices are more than 96 per cent recyclable, SaskTel’s Phones for a Fresh Start is working to divert as many from the landfill as it possibly can.

The program not only helps keep phones out of garbage dumps, but also helps people using PATHS to get back on their feet.

In a media release, Doug Burnett, SaskTel’s Acting President and Chief Executive Officer says that he's happy about the progress of the program and how it helps. “It really is an amazing program. Phones for a Fresh Start is having a direct impact on PATHS' ability to help women fleeing domestic violence rebuild their lives, and we’re glad we have the opportunity to make the transition these women face a little bit easier.”

For more information on Phones for a Fresh Start, click here.