Cells for Cells

Recycle Cell Phones to Help Families Battling Cancer

Corporate Partners

From 3-Pointers to Recycling: How I Teamed Up with Pepsi to Make a Difference

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A Friendly Challenge

Years ago, at a Chamber of Commerce event, I challenged our area Pepsi Guy in a thrilling 3-point contest. The trash talk leading up to our turn was vicious and nasty (and business appropriate).

I won.

I remember jogging to the sidelines so out of breath and my mouth so dry, that I couldn’t even speak the words ‘water.’

But I won…and I teamed up with Pepsi to Battle Cancer.

Connecting over a Cause

After the contest, Pepsi Guy offered me five minutes to discuss my company, Cells for Cells where our mission is to recycle old cell phones and raise money for families battling cancer.

We decided to join forces locally and make a real impact in our community.

Supporting Light the Night

Our connection with Pepsi grew stronger, and I was able to introduce the Pepsi team to my friend working at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Pepsi generously provided all the beverages for the Light the Night Event, the LLS’s largest event in Kansas City.

A Big Opportunity with Pepsi Corporate

Building on our local success, I asked Pepsi Guy if he could connect me with someone at Pepsi’s corporate level.

He introduced me to the East Regional Gal, who, in turn, connected me with the Head of Sustainability at Pepsi World Headquarters in New York.

A Partnership with Purpose

After a thoughtful three-day review, the Head of Sustainability expressed personal alignment with our mission. He said,

“I also connected with your mission on a personal level. To me it was a simple win-win situation for everyone involved.“

– Victor Melendez former Head of Sustainability at Pepsi World Headquarters

We were invited to be a part of the Official Pepsi Eco-challenge, where we recycled thousands of old cell phones for Pepsi.

Beyond the Court

This journey began with a 3-point contest victory and evolved into a powerful partnership where we helped more families battling cancer

The lesson? Sometimes a winning shot can lead to something much bigger.

Help us. Join us. Recycle with us.

If you’re not a 3-point expert but have a box of old cell phones waiting to be recycled, don’t hesitate to connect with me.

If you manage hundreds or thousands of devices for your company, connect with me today.

At Cells for Cells, we’re dedicated to helping families battling cancer, and you can be a part of this battle against cancer.

Recycle with Cells for Cells and make a difference. Visit http://cellsforcells.com.]

Jason Clements is the founder of and writer for Cells for Cells.  Jason has raised tens of thousands of dollars for Cancer Charities through his recycling program and has helped dozens of families in their battle against cancer.

He lives in Kansas and is an amateur artist.

You can follow Jason on X (Twitter) @jasonclements and Instagram @theartandtimesofjason

How To Expose 520 Million People To Smart Sustainability

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Adam Wilmes
Adam Wilmes

This interview is with Adam Wilmes, who is a LEED AP BD+C credentialed Architect with Populous and a member USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council).  We cover the topics of LEED building practices, personal environmental stewardship and global impact of smart sustainability. 

 

Enjoy.

Total Reading Time:  Less than 7 minutes.

1.  What are a few things that you have changed in your personal life that make you more green?

Adam:  I’ve always been dedicated to living a sustainable life – architecture has certainly encouraged that.  From a personal standpoint, I believe it’s the little details that lead to living ‘green’ – from recycling, to using less water, to turning the light off when I leave a room (that is, if it doesn’t have an automatic sensor!).

2.  In your opinion, what are three things that anyone can do at home to help our environment?

Adam:  Recycle, use less water, and turn off the lights when you leave a room…

3.  In Kansas City, there are numerous tools to help all of us be better at recycling.  Deffenbaugh (our local waste and recycling company) makes it easy for us to sort our trash from recyclables;and Ripple Glass has hundreds of containers throughout the city making it easier for everyone to recycle glass. What is your favorite local recycling resource that makes it easier for you to be better at recycling?  Continue Reading

Tom Coffman formerly with Deffenbaugh Industries Answers 15 Questions: Recycling, Sustainability, and Green

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This interview with Tom Coffman, former Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships with Deffenbaugh Industries, covers the topics of sustainability, recycling, green ideas, and the services that Deffenbaugh Industries and Deffenbaugh Recycling provide to the Midwest.

Total Reading time: 5:00 minutes.

1.  What are 4 things that anyone can do, right now, to be better at recycling?
Tom:   Eliminate plastic bags, eliminate plastic bags, eliminate plastic bags, and eliminate plastic bags from recycling containers. Plastic bags are a menace when they get to the recycling facility. They gum up our systems and they blow all over the place. Most grocery stores have containers for recyclable plastic bags.

2.  What is exciting to you in the area of sustainability?
Tom:    I think the growing awareness, support and public interest around sustainability issues has been very heartening. Whether it is the food people eat, the homes they build and maintain or the way they handle their yard waste, you can see behaviors continue to move toward greater sustainability.

3.  What is your favorite innovation that you have been a part of at Deffenbaugh Indsutries?
Tom:    There are three innovations I’ve seen in the past 20 years at Deffenbaugh Industries that I think are particularly cool. The move toward automated collection for residential trash and recycling has been a great step forward, as has the implementation of a single-stream recycling system. And the fact that we collect and process approximately 15 million cubic feet of landfill gas per day, which is used to serve the equivalent of 5,000 homes daily, always impresses me. Continue Reading

Thank you to everyone at UMB Banks for recycling with Cells for Cells

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I picked up two very cool DIY boxes from UMB today.

Remember that Cells for Cells does not provide collection boxes for cell phone drives.  We encourage everyone to reuse any old box…just like UMB has done.

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Additional Resources:

Link to the Battle Cancer Poster

Link to the Freighquote.com DIY Cell Phone Box Video

UMB recycles with Cells for Cells.
UMB recycles with Cells for Cells.

 

Deffenbaugh Industries Partners with Cells for Cells

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Midwest’s largest trash and recycling company partners with eco-friendly initiative to help families battling cancer

Shawnee, KS (August 24, 2010)—Today’s strategic partnerships are more important than ever. By capitalizing on innovative talent and creative networking, Deffenbaugh Industries continues to build a name for itself as an eco-friendly brand. Now, with a new partnership with cell phone recycler, Cells for Cells, Deffenbaugh Industries will apply its momentum as one of the largest recyclers in the Midwest to invigorate local and national green initiatives.

As the largest trash collection and disposal company in the Kansas City region, Deffenbaugh Industries has already built a strong connection with the community.  Since introducing curbside recycling to the Kansas City metro area in 1989 and through programs like the “One Earth, One Chance School Recycling Program” Deffenbaugh Industries encourages sustainability by showcasing  leading-edge methods of recycling. These programs reward creative thinking, and encourage participants to look at sustainability as a lifestyle choice.

And now, their partnership with Cells for Cells, the largest recycling program which collects used cell phones to raise money for families battling cancer, allows Deffenbaugh Industries to do more than just recycle:  Deffenbaugh Industries is helping families battling cancer.

Deffenbaugh Industries is leading the Midwest in green initiatives and encouraging the community to take simple actions.  Recycling efforts cannot be successful when only a few individuals try to make sweeping changes:  It’s when a large group of people and communities make tiny changes – like recycling a cell phone – that the results are staggering.

Cells for Cells primary beneficiary is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society whom they support nationally – working with 14 chapters.   “We just want to help more families,” says Jason Clements, Cells for Cells co-founder.  “Our partnership with Deffenbaugh Industries will allow us to raise awareness about recycling and the environment both locally and nationally.”

About Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc.

Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc., founded in 1957 is one of the largest waste and recycling services companies in the Midwest.  Deffenbaugh Industries provides efficient collection, transportation, and disposal of commercial and residential waste and recycling, construction waste, portable toilet, and truck and industrial supplies services.  Over its 50 years in operations, Deffenbaugh Industries has establish a reputation for superior customer service and satisfaction.  Deffenbaugh Industries is headquartered in Kansas City and operates in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa.  For additional information please visit http://www.deffenbaughinc.com/

About Cells for Cells

Cells for Cells recycles cell phones to raise money for families battling cancer.  Cells for Cells partners include Kansas City’s largest and most influential companies, and Fortune 500 companies nationwide.  Cells for Cells is also part of Pepsi’s Eco Challenge.  To learn more about getting your company involved with Cells for Cells please visit www.cellsforcells.com

Additional Reading

Cells for Cells:  Part of Pepsi’s Eco Challenge