Phone grip by Sprint helps storm relief
Sprint has turned hurricane debris into a smartphone accessory.
Crafted from South Florida trees uprooted by Hurricane Irma, the circular wooden disks, known as pop sockets, went on sale Tuesday at select MiamiDade County Sprint stores for $5 to support the nonprofit The Miami Foundation hurricane relief fund, according to a news release. The grips, emblazoned with the words “Florida Strong,” attach to the back of any smartphone.
Donations will supply food, housing and other immediate needs to vulnerable residents in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, Sprint said.
The wireless carrier collected wood from the felled trees in Miami after Hurricane Irma roared ashore in September and shipped it to an Indiana manufacturer to create 10,000 pop-up grips for holiday gift-giving, the company said.
After ravaging Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, Irma made its first U.S. landfall on Sept. 10 as a category 4 storm on Cudjoe Key, later striking Naples. More than 130 people died in the storm’s wake.
In Florida, the storm tore up landscapes and left millions of residents without power for weeks — as well as piles of debris that took months for municipalities to remove.
Months later, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean nations continue to struggle with relief efforts as thousands remain homeless, according to news reports.
“We are excited to create something positive from the storm debris and use these phone grips as a symbol for the Florida community that together we will come back stronger,” said Claudio Hidalgo, president of Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands region for Sprint. “We hope that through previous and continued efforts like these, and many more, we can support ongoing needs for relief and rebuilding.”
After the storm, Sprint and its employees committed $2 million to support those affected by the natural disaster, according to the company.
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