Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!killer!vector!nobody From: ssc-vax!clark@beaver.cs.washington.edu (Roger Clark Swann) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: New way to donate money Message-ID: Date: 9 Jan 89 17:49:59 GMT Sender: chip@vector.UUCP Lines: 31 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-Submissions-To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 9, message 4 First off, I hope that everyone is having a great 1989... As many of may have heard/read, there was a bad oil spill recently off the Washington state coast. As a result, there is much cleanup work going on both at the beaches and at emergency wildlife shelters. I was watching a story on all this during the evening news here in Seattle the other night. I was surprised when they ended the story by stating that one could donate to the cleanup fund, (didn't catch if this was the state fund or a private fund), by just dialing a phone number. Here is how it worked: dial 1-440-xxxx = $5 to the cleanup dial 1-440-yyyy = $10 to the cleanup The donation would be automatically charged to caller's phone bill. This is the first time that I have seen this done locally. I assume that it is going on elsewhere in the country as well. Roger C. Swan uucp: uw-beaver!ssc-vax!clark voice: 206/657-5810 [Moderator's Note: What is the area code to call? Can this number be called from outside the local phone company's area? I have not seen it done around Chicago, but I think it is an excellent idea. We are billed by the phone company for the various information services; we are billed $2 or more for the various sexual gratification services we call on 900-xxx-xxxx; why not something very worthwhile like Mr. Swan is describing? It might be worth a letter to your local telco, or your state regulators, asking that such a group of numbers be made available in your community, with the phone company donating its services as collection agent for charitable groups. P. Townson]