2000-2001 Excellence in Service Award
for Disadvantaged Women and Children

Donate a Phone Quota International Inc. Wireless Foundation
Quota International of Anchorage was honored at the 2001 International Convention with one of two Excellence in Service for Disadvantages Women and Children Award. The club collected more that 4000 new and used wireless and cellular telephones for the WirelessFoundation's Call to Protect Program. This program is a national effort to distribute one million phones to American women who are victims of domestic violence. The program cost the club no money because supplies were donated by the Wireless Foundation, members and local businesses. Shipping was generously donated by FedEx.

First came publicity. The CBS affiliate, KTVA-TV followed the progress of the collection over a 5 month period with follow up stories during local news broadcasts, and KTUU-TV, the NBC affiliate adopted the project as a Community Service function of the station with live morning broadcasts from Kaladi Brothers, a local coffee roaster. Donors were given a free cup of coffee with each donation. This effort alone generated more than 1000 phones in a 4 day period between December 26 and December 29, 2000.

Collection sites were identified with window signs donated by A.T. Publishing and Printing and First Interstate Bank of Alaska inserted donor cards in monthly statements to more than 4000 bank customers. Preproduced public service announcements provided by the Wireless Foundation were delivered to local radions tations and regular press releases were sent to all local mdia outlets including the Anchorage Daily News. The club also generated a website for the project. By the end of the project, Anchorage, Alaska knew more about Quota International and about women in crisis. And the club knew that although the effort didn't cost the club a dime, they also could make a difference with another precious commodity:time. The members of Quota International of Anchorage would like to thank all of the businesses, media outlets and especially the hundreds of donors who helped to make this program such a rousing success.

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Updated Sunday, March 03, 2002