Man collecting phone cards for troops overseas
Cody Anderson has found an interesting way to collect international phone cards for the troops.
In 1979, he pulled a covered wagon across the country to raise $80,000 for the American Heart Association and a decade later transformed his bike into a miniature version of the space shuttle for a trip to honor Christa McAuliffe.
More recently, he walked 1,000 miles back and forth between the White House and Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Each of his campaigns were designed to bring attention to a certain issue and raise donations for a cause.
His newest efforts are to collect international phone cards for U.S. troops.
Anderson said he’s the only American citizen allowed to visit five oversea military bases and hand out 7,000 international phone cards to deployed personnel.
“There is nothing like the gratitude of handing a phone card to a soldier so they can talk to his or her family,” said Anderson
Over his 34 years of philanthropic work, he has received the keys to 60 cities and letters of commendation from presidents, governors and members of Congress.
Recently, Anderson spent $44,000 of his own money to turn his truck into a mobile deejay station and plans on traveling to the west coast and back.
He explains that he plays all musical genres but avoids bad language.
From July 21-23, Anderson will be playing music near the Iwo Jima statue at Four Mile Cove Ecological Park from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. He is asking local residents to bring international phone cards for the troops and canned food for the Cape Coral Caring Center.
Another show is scheduled Saturday, July 24, from noon to 5 p.m., at Liquid Music Instruments, a new guitar store at 1059 N.E. Pine Island Road, Suite 3. Other shows are also being scheduled in Fort Myers and Naples.
“It’s a labor of love, I love our soldiers for what they have done for our country and I’m always trying to help the hungry,” said Anderson.
People who can’t attend any of the events can still send international phone cards to Maj. Michael Reeve, 3rd Infantry Division HQ, Building 1, Second Floor, FECC, Fort Stewart, GA, 31314.