Thanks for taking the pledge!
Help us spread the word about Phones for the Holidays!
Thousands of Nova Scotians experience homelessness and/or gender-based violence every year. Many do not have a mobile phone, preventing them from connecting to services, family and friends, or calling for help.
Together, we can help.
We accept phones in any condition. Our team will securely wipe all usable devices and recycle any device that cannot be repaired.
Make sure the phone is "wiped"
Bundle the phone and charger in a Zip-lock bag, wrapped in an elastic.
Deliver your phone(s) to one of our drop-off locations across Nova Scotia
Make a charitable donation so we can purchase one-month phone plan cards to go with every device.
Thank you to our 75+ volunteer drop-off locations including Geebo Device Repair stores and MLA constituency offices! Find your closest drop-off location on the map below and click here for the full list with additional details.
Intimate partner violence was officially declared an epidemic in Nova Scotia in September 2024 with the unanimous passage of the Intimate Partner Violence Epidemic Act.
Rates of homelessness have practically doubled over the past few years across all parts of Nova Scotia.
People escaping gender-based violence and/ or experiencing homelessness are in crisis and yet many are without a mobile phone they need to connect to services, family and friends, or call for help.
Thank you to our 40+ distribution partners across Nova Scotia. They work every day to support people in crisis and this campaign could not be successful without them. We are honoured to support their work, and grateful for their tireless efforts. Click here to see the full list of partners.
Phones for the Holidays began seven years ago as a small community effort in honour of Patti Melanson, founder of MOSH and a champion for compassionate, judgment-free care. What started as a simple phone drive in her memory has grown into a province-wide initiative powered by people who believe connection is a human right.
Today, Phones for the Holidays collects used phones to support people experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, or gender-based violence. Through expanded partnerships across Nova Scotia, the campaign is aiming to distribute 1,000 phones this year, each with a one-month prepaid plan, to help individuals stay connected to essential services and support networks.
GEO Nova Scotia is serving as the lead organizer of the campaign, coordinating key partners, drop-off locations, and distribution partners, as well as financials and taking responsibility to ensure its overall success.
Boom12 Communications is leading the branding, creative, and digital communications aspects of the campaign, building on their experience managing the Phones for the Holidays campaign in previous years.
Geebo Device Repair is leading the device management aspects of the campaign, serving as drop-off locations and as the final collection points for all devices, providing the technical skills and time to prepare the phones for distribution.
Android instructions:
Tips: If the device has multiple Google accounts, remove them all if you want a fully FRP-free reset.
Apple instructions:
**This can be an issue if the device is broken so we will need to take customers’ contact details to follow up with customers once repaired to properly erase the phone.
Geebo Device Repair will assess every device and fix what needs repairing when possible.
If you can’t charge your device or get it working in order to remove your accounts before donating it, simply include a card or post-it with your name and phone number. When the team at Geebo gets to your phone, if it can be fixed, they will contact you to help remove your accounts at that time.