I never imagined that one of my sons would one day become a soldier.

As a mother, we always want the best for our children and worry about them from the day they are born.  We want them to do well in school, to make friends, and to succeed in life. I should have known Jordan would one day enlist; his compassion, kindness and respect for others, is something that started in Kindergarten.

When Jordan enlisted with the National Guard, and graduated this summer from Army Basic training, I had mixed emotions, both immense pride, and also fear.

Now it’s my turn to do something for our soldiers. I admit, my feelings have changed. These young men and women give me hope that society has not lost the core values that we don’t always experience in civilian life.

You may recall I contributed some tips for kids moving to college on General Motors The Future is Electric blog. Since GM is involved with the Cell Phones for Soldiers program, I would like to help with this project by asking you to send me your used cell phones, rather than tossing them. Why? To help with the cause. Chevy wants to provide 750,000 free communication tools in 2011.

Here’s my used phone which I’m donating to “Cell Phones for Soldiers.”

 “We feel ‘Cell Phones for Soldiers’ is a worthy cause that fits well with GM’s long-standing commitment to support the men and women serving our country,” said Mark Degnan, GM director of local advertising, marketing and training. “Personally, with a brother and a nephew in active duty in Iraq, I know how important every call home can be for soldiers overseas, and their families at home.”

Thanks to Brittany and Robbie Bergquist of Norwell, Massachusetts, who started the Cell Phones for Soldiers program when they heard of a soldier having to pay almost $8,000 for a phone bill to call his family from Iraq. They decided to help and raised $21. At the time they were only 12 and 13. Now their organization turns old cell phones into minutes of prepaid calling cards for U.S. troops stationed overseas. Here’s a link to a video on Cell Phone for Soldiers with Robbie and Britanny Bergquist.

Reasons why you should consider donating your used cell phone to our soldiers:

• More than 130 million phones are retired every year in the United States.
• If just 2% of Americans were to donate their unwanted phones, every soldier could get a free call home.
• So far $1 million in donations has given 400,000 minutes to troops.

Thanks to Chevy, who provided me with 8 free tickets to attend the 14th Annual Coronado Speed Festival, September 25-26, 2011. This is a vintage race with cars dating from 1952-1972.

“Join thousands of race enthusiasts and fans in this premier motorsports event saluting our nation’s military.”

Chevy will be celebrating its centennial birthday at the Festival and will be offering test drives in new Chevy vehicles. You’re invited to visit their booth.

I’m donating 6 free tickets to the first 3 people  (who e-mail me at sonia@soniamarsh.com, and send me their used cell phones.) Two tickets per cell phone, so you can take someone with you. If you can send me two or more used phones, that’s even better. I shall send you the address to mail it to when you contact me. If you’re attending the SCWA meeting on Saturday, September 17th in Fountain Valley, California, I shall give you the ticket then if you’re one of the first 3 to contact me.

If you wish to participate on your own, here is a list of cell phone drop off locations by zip code.

Hope to see you at the 14th Annual Coronado Speed Festival, September 24-25.