- February 7, 2025
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The word giving can frequently be seen around the holiday season and one Port Orange man is working to give victims of domestic violence a way to get help in emergencies.
Bob Davis, president of the Halifax Lodging and Hospitality Association, has set out to collect old cell phones in order to have them stripped of data and programed so that the new owner can only call 911. Davis has been doing this for 25 years and while he takes donated phones throughout the year, he focuses on the holiday season as more people are getting rid of and buying phones.
"There's a great need in the community," Davis said. "This is a way to do something good in the community."
Davis donates the phones to United Way, which sends them to a battered women's group that wipes the phones and programs them to only dial 911. According to Davis, he usually receives around 50 to 100 donated cell phones each year.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in three women have been victims of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. The NCADV also reported that almost every day there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide.
Davis has already received donated cell phones from county officials and said if people can't bring the phones to him, he will personally drive out to get the phones on his own.
"I’ll try my best, even if have to pick them up myself," Davis said.
Cell phones can be dropped off at the Hotel and Lodging Association of Volusia County office, 1808 Concept Ct., or call 386-257-6828 to have phones picked up.
