Giving old phones & devices a new life
The Reconnect Project has a straightforward mission: to collect broken and unwanted mobile phones, fix them up, and give them to people in need.
There's an estimated 23 million 'spare' mobile phones sitting in drawers, boxes and garages across Australia - and we're asking Australians to donate them to us. We'll we fix them, securely wipe any data and pre-load them with credit, ready to be used by someone in need - recently arrived refugees, those fleeing domestic abuse or someone in a transient housing situation.
(re)connecting people
Imagine trying to apply for a job, or find a place to live, or wishing a family member a happy birthday, if you didn't have a mobile phone. Mobile phones are no longer just for calls and messages, they're a tool for everyday interactions - a way to check emails, a camera for recording memories, an alarm clock and a music player. For a refugee, a mobile phone provides the means to (re)connect with their loved ones. For a person in transient housing who has no mailing address, a mobile phone is a conduit for communicating with essential services. A clean and non-tracked phone safely helps a woman fleeing domestic abuse to remain in contact with family and friends.
Making connections every single day
In our first year, The Reconnect Project is aiming to give away
one mobile phone every single day.
To distribute the phones directly to people who need them most, we'll be working with referral agencies including
The Generous & The Grateful and House of Welcome.
It's not waste until it's wasted
E-waste (electronic waste) is the fastest growing contributor to landfill in Australia. Yet much of this 'waste' can actually be repaired and reused. That's what The Reconnect Project is all about.
The Reconnect Project's founding corporate partner is iPulse Phone Repairs, a wholesale supplier of spare parts and provider of training programs to the mobile device repair industry. It's at the training sessions that the donated phones will be repaired for The Reconnect Project, allowing the trainees to work with a multitude of models and repair issues, and providing The Reconnect Project with functioning mobile phones to distribute to grateful recipients.
A little bit about me
I'm Annette and I’ve established The Reconnect Project for social and environmental reasons.
For the past 20 years, I've worked on a range of environmental projects, including climate change, sustainable living and threatened species. But my passion is waste: I can talk rubbish all day!
During my time as Communications Manager at The Bower Reuse & Repair Centre, a social enterprise and environmental charity in Sydney, I developed the 'House to Home' project, an initiative providing furniture, whitegoods and household items to newly arrived refugees.
At the 2016 Green Globe Awards, 'House to Home' was recognised by the Office of Environment & Heritage, taking out not only the prize for Community Leadership, but also the Best of the Best Premier's Award for Environmental Excellence.
I believe in the 'right to repair' - that once a product (particularly technology) is purchased, the owner has the right to have it repaired. Manufacturers build in obsolescence, or don't release spare parts, thereby intentionally stopping us from repairing and reusing items - trapping us in a cycle of consumerism. I can't stand waste (landfill is a dirty, dirty word!!) and I firmly believe in social justice, a little bit of compassion goes a long way to supporting people in our world.
Will you join in? Connect with The Reconnect Project!
With your support, The Reconnect Project will give old phones and devices a new life, and allow people to (re)connect with family, friends and essential services. Here’s how you can help:
Donate! A donation of $100 will cover the costs for one mobile phone to be repaired. $30 allows us to also provide a phone case and charging accessories. And I’ve got some awesome rewards for my crowdfunding supporters, like these handcrafted, one-of-a-kind, passive amplifiers made from reclaimed timbers.
Give! Funds will get this project going but we also need unwanted phones. Once we’ve hit our crowdfunding goal, we’ll be ready to launch and will upload a list of donation locations on our website.
Share! How connected are YOU? You can help support The Reconnect Project by spreading the word. Use this as an opportunity to (re)connect with people and share this campaign with friends, family, colleagues and neighbours.