Chicago-Area VETERUN to Serve as Cell Phones for Soldiers Donation Site to Benefit Troops

AT&T and Nonprofit Group to Recycle Old Phones; Funds Used to Buy Phone Cards for Military Personnel Serving Overseas

Chicago, Illinois.-In honor of Veterans Day, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and Cell Phones For Soldiers (CPFS) have announced a mobile phone donation drive with the Chicago-area Westchester VETERUN on Veterans Day, Sunday, Nov. 11. CPFS is a nonprofit organization, started by two Massachusetts teens, that collects old mobile phones, recycles them and uses the proceeds to provide free prepaid phone cards and financial assistance to military personnel and their families.

Participants and spectators for the VETERUN race are encouraged to drop off their old phones in recycling bins posted near the check-in tent and other locations on-site. Area supporters not attending the race who would like to contribute to CPFS can take their old mobile phones to any AT&T company-owned retail store.

Voted Race of the Year by the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) for the past three years — and organized by the Westchester Chamber of Commerce — the 18th annual Westchester VETERUN offers 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer runs and a 2-mile health walk as part of the Veterans Day event. The event is open to Chicago-area runners, and proceeds benefit the Wounded Heroes Foundation.

Since the program was founded in April 2004, CPFS has raised more than $1 million and has sent more than 400,000 phone cards to troops overseas. This past summer, AT&T announced that all of its 1,800 retail stores throughout the country would serve as drop-off sites for the program.

“As the holidays approach, many military families will celebrate together — but many others will not because of a call to duty,” said Steve Mitchell, vice president and general manager, AT&T Illinois, and a VETERUN race participant. “Cell Phones for Soldiers provides a wonderful opportunity to show our support for military personnel by donating an old or unused mobile phone. AT&T is proud to be actively involved with the Cell Phones for Soldiers program and the Westchester VETERUN.”

The VETERUN recycling drive further builds on AT&T’s commitment to support military initiatives. For more than 85 years, AT&T has been involved in charitable activities, sponsorships, the hiring of military veterans and supporting active-duty personnel and reservists when called to serve their country.

Since 2000, AT&T has donated nearly $8 million in free prepaid phone cards to military members and has provided nearly $6 million in grants that support military members and related nonprofit organizations. The company also has built 70 calling centers in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan that help keep military members in touch with their families. More information on these and other initiatives are available at www.att.com/troopsupport.