GUIDELINES FOR SETTING UP PREPAID CELL PHONE SERVICE
For most sites, it will be easiest and cheapest to use the same phones and service from the preceding year. Note that at some of our sites, cell phone coverage is not available and at others, cell phone resources will be provided by the YouthWorks office. If it is necessary to set up prepaid service at your site, please review the following guidelines: Explore whether Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint prepaid cell phone coverage is available in your community. Of the national providers, these typically have the best plans and coverage. In most YouthWorks communities, at least one of these vendors will have a retail outlet, or be available at a Sam’s Club or Wal-Mart store. If neither of these vendors is available, pursue a local or regional cell phone provider that offers prepaid service in your community. When setting up your prepaid account, it should be approved by your AD/RD. Please make sure to include YouthWorks company information on the account so that it can be accessed from the office: YouthWorks! 3530 E 28th Street Minneapolis, MN 55406 (List Gordy Druvenga as contact) (Office phone #612-729-5444)
See the reverse of this page for a summary of these plan options and YouthWorks preference as to the best plan for your site phones. Purchase the phone and initial minutes by YouthWorks check or credit card. Code the purchase to the Communications line on your budget. Do the same if you need to purchase additional minutes later in the summer. Make sure no charges will be posted to your credit card after the end of the summer, as your account will be closed. (Do not set up automatic payments.) Purchase the least expensive phone possible. If the least expensive option is an “after rebate” purchase, have the rebate sent to the YouthWorks office c/o Gordy Druvenga and include a copy of the rebate slip with your finances at the end of Prep Week. You are responsible to manage your site’s cell phone use within the site budget. This includes knowing the parameters of your plan such as night/weekend, mobile-to-mobile, roaming and long distance. (There are significant variations in these features by vendor and plan.) YouthWorks cell phones should not routinely be used for text messaging or internet access. Also, if your site is near a Canadian or Mexican border, make sure you will not be charged international rates for accessing a tower on the other side of the border. The key to managing your cell phone budget is to use cell phones only for calls that will last under 3 minutes or for emergencies and use a landline and the YW calling card (at about 3 cents per minute) for longer calls. Use a landline to check your YouthWorks voice mail. At the end of the summer, prepaid cell phones must be turned in to your Regional Director at check-in. Please attach a label to the phone with the phone number and password. Also, please note the number of minutes or dollar value remaining on the phone and the date they will expire.
PREFERRED PLAN OPTIONS WITH VERIZON AND AT&T AND SPRINT Do comparison shopping in your community, taking into account which vendor has the lowest up-front cost for phones and activation, but ensuring that your coverage will be adequate. Verizon Wireless – choose the “Core Pay As You Go” plan A daily access fee of 99 cents is charged each day you use the phone Calls are charged at a rate of 10 cents per minute (for all calls – day, night, weekend) Mobile-to-mobile calls with other Verizon phones are free
AT&T Wireless – choose the “Pay As You Go Unlimited Talk” plan A daily access fee of $1.00 is charged each day you use the phone Calls are charged at a rate of 10 cents per minute Mobile-to-mobile calls with other AT&T phones are free Please check with your local store about night and weekend minutes options as in some cases they may offer free night and weekend minutes with purchases over a certain threshold
For these two plans, when initially setting up your site cell phone, purchase $100-worth of calling. Then manage your balance within the site budget allowance. If your site has been approved for a second phone, purchase $50-worth of calling on the second phone and manage from there. Sprint – choose the “Boost Mobile – Monthly Unlimited” plan Unlimited days, nights, weekends, mobile-to-mobile for $50/month If using this plan, make sure Sprint has coverage in your area and you plan to use your cell phone for YW purposes for more than 300 minutes per month Please confirm with your local store that there is no contract and that you can cancel after the end of the summer
If none of these options are available, check into whether a local or regional carrier provides a similar service plan.