September 2007- As one of the largest Chilean wine brands in the U.S., Santa Rita commands an important presence in the American wine market. This fall, together with U.S. importer Palm Bay International, Santa Rita is utilizing its reach across major markets to support a campaign that helps our military personnel overseas to stay in touch with their loved ones back home.

From September 1 through December 31, 2007, a portion of the proceeds of Santa Rita wines sold at participating retailers will be donated to Cell Phones for Soldiers, an organization that provides pre-paid phone cards to our armed forces overseas. Santa Rita’s goal is to raise $100,000 towards phone cards for our service men and women serving abroad this holiday season.

In addition, Santa Rita is sponsoring the placement of cell phone drop boxes throughout the country, running local radio and newspaper advertising, and attaching coupons and information to its bottles on store shelves. To order a drop box or to donate your cell phone, visit www.santaritacares.com.

Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded in 2003 by siblings Robbie and Brittany Bergquist, then 13 and 14, after they heard about a soldier who had run up an $8,000 phone bill calling home to his family. In a valiant effort to help, they gathered $21 of their own money and opened a bank account, then started to spread the word. Cell Phones for Soldiers was born, and since then this registered 501c3 non-profit organization has raised almost $1 million in donations and distributed more than 400,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas. AT&T has signed on as a major partner nationwide. View a CBS News segment about Robbie and Brittany, or visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com for more information.

Here’s how the program works:

• Cell Phones for Soldiers collects used cell phones, batteries and chargers through a network of drop boxes across the country, and via mail.
• They sell the equipment to ReCellular, a refurbisher, earning an average of $5.00 per phone.
• Proceeds are used to purchase pre-paid phone cards for the troops.
• Troops can request cards, or friends and family members can request cards on their behalf.
• 1.5 million minutes of call time has been provided to soldiers thus far.
• The organization processes approximately 20,000 phones per month.

Santa Rita will team up with key partners for a series of special fund-raising events to support the program, the first of which will be a dinner at Texas de Brazil in Dallas on September 12. 100% of the evening’s proceeds will be donated to Cell Phones for Soldiers. Click here for event details or to purchase a ticket.