BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- For all the billions of dollars being spent on the war in Iraq, 14-year-old Brittany Bergquist is surprised that the U.S. military doesn't do what she and her little brother are doing: helping soldiers phone home free.

"I'm kind of happy that they didn't supply them," she said, "because we've always wanted to do something for the soldiers."

With $14 from their piggy banks, she and 12-year-old brother Robbie started Cell Phones for Soldiers. In less than nine months, the organization has provided $250,000 worth of prepaid calling cards to American soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait.

They raise money by collecting old cellular phones and selling them to companies that refurbish them for resale. Hundreds of schools and organizations, from Hawaii to Georgia, have started local chapters and become drop-off centers for used cell phones.

"It's hard doing everything," said Brittany, an eighth-grader from the Boston suburb of Norwell. "But it doesn't matter to us. We think about how hard the soldiers work every day and they don't have a choice to stop."

The USO, the private organization that entertains U.S. troops overseas, runs a similar program, called Operation Phone Home. A $10 donation will buy a serviceman or servicewoman a 100-minute global calling card.

The Bergquists have gotten appreciative e-mails from soldiers and their families. One wrote: "Hearing from family members is what keeps a soldier going and gives them the drive to get the job done and get home."

Brittany and her brother have made sacrifices. She skipped a statewide cheerleading competition, and Robbie has missed big soccer and hockey games. But Brittany said that helping families stay connected is the reward.