Cell phone outreach builds community network

By Wade Coggeshall

INDIANAPOLIS — Cissi Sherlock once was down and out.

She’s back on her feet now, but she hasn’t forgotten her past. It’s why she started Operation Open Up, a community outreach that gives those in need a recycled, reactivated cell phone pre-loaded with 100 free minutes to help them get established in a home and/or job.

More than a year after starting Operation Open Up, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that Sherlock has distributed every cell phone donated to her. The bad news is there are still others who need them.

Fortunately, she’s getting a lot of help in her mission. Operation Open Up is part of the H.O.P.E. Team (Helping Others Prosper Economically), a network of philanthropic organizations dedicated to helping those in need. Through that and other civic-minded alliances, Sherlock has assembled a committed group of individuals to advance her cause.

“We’ve found a lot of groups willing to adopt us as their pet project,” said Sherlock, who also works as a representative for Babblebug, a prepaid international and domestic long distance phone service provider.

The Rev. William Rivers is one of those partners. Sherlock met him through his church. Operation Open Up has provided cell phones to residents of a women’s shelter Rivers runs.

“We’ve accomplished quite a few things together,” said Rivers, adding he knows many people who need such assistance. “It’s really opened the lines of communication for so many people.”

The Rev. Byron Vaughn is one of the founders of Prisoners Reformed United, a program that assists ex-offenders successfully reintegrate into society. A fellow H.O.P.E. Team member, Vaughn notes how both projects have the same goals.

“I support their efforts,” he said of Operation Open Up. “Communication is a real asset in killing the excuses (for not being productive in society).”

It’s not just civic leaders helping the cause. Several members of Smaller Indiana, an online social network of which Sherlock is affiliated, have taken her torch and run with it. Louis Begnel donated a couple old cell phones himself, then collected more while visiting his wife’s family in Finland.

“I wish I could’ve done more, but you’ve got to take something like this one cell phone at a time,” Begnel said. “It’s hard enough out there. I can’t imagine what you do when you don’t even have a phone number to list on a job application.”

Indeed, Operation Open Up is a simple act that fills an important need. Important enough that Edell Flagg was compelled to volunteer for it. He met Sherlock at a job fair. She offered him a paid position, but he insisted on helping with no compensation.

“I enjoy being in this position,” Flagg said. “I hope we can make it bigger and better.”

The Rev. Benjamin John was one of Sherlock’s earliest supporters. As leader of the non-denominational God’s House of Worship and an outreach minister for Wishard Memorial Hospital’s Lockefield Village Rehabilitation and Healthcare, he befriended her in 2000 after moving to Roland Retirement Club in Speedway. Suffering from cerebral palsy and epilepsy, John is confined to a wheelchair. Once when his chair was almost out of power, he couldn’t find anyone to help him until he went to the store Sherlock worked at. She dropped everything to make sure he got home safely.

“Everyone loves her,” John said. “They always welcome her with open arms and hearts.”

Beyond Operation Open Up Sherlock and John have taken to helping other residents at Roland — offering a flea market of needed items every month for those struggling financially or who don’t really have families anymore. It’s so successful that Roland gives them carte blanche to do it whenever and however much they want.

It’s further proof of this group’s sincerity in their mission. And in just over one year’s time, it’s spreading. Babblebug is helping Sherlock take Operation Open Up nationwide. She’ll continue propagating the message to anyone who’ll listen.

“People are not going to know what we’re doing unless I continue to be tenacious,” she said.

For more information on Operation Open Up or to donate, call Sherlock at 605-8584.

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Online:

www.operationopenup.tk



wade.coggeshall@gmail.com

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