HAVERHILL — If you're serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, it's bad enough that your life is in danger at all times.
What makes it even tougher is being thousands of miles away from your family and friends.
Cell Phones for Soldiers is an outreach program that seeks to lift the spirits of the men and women serving overseas by giving them cell phones so they can get in touch with their loved ones.
Al Morris of Haverhill, a Vietnam-era veteran who has collected used cell phones in this area for the troops, said one local business in particular has answered the call: the Merrimack Valley Federal Credit Union branch office at Central Plaza.
During the past year, since the credit union placed a box at the tellers' counter with a sign asking for used cell phones, 431 phones have been donated. They have all come from credit union employees and members, according to Liz Pearl, manager of the Central Plaza branch.
Pearl said the response has been "tremendous."
"They (credit union members) really are the most community-concerned people," Pearl said. "Our members can always be counted on."
As for the troops receiving the cell phones, "I know it means something to them. They're our boys, our soldiers."
"It's going to a good cause," said Stephanie Powell, a teller at the Central Plaza office.
She should know. Her husband, Adam Powell, a corporal in the Marines, served on the front line in Iraq for seven months. He came home in August.
"Being able to keep in touch with family and loved ones is the most important thing," she said.
For more information, visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com.
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