All customers had to do was drop off their old cell phones while grabbing their daily cup of Joe at the Starbucks on Lincoln and Meridian avenues or the Willow Street location.

The two Willow Glen Starbucks were among nine locations that partnered with Happy Hollow to support its cell phone recycling program. In total, Starbucks collected nearly 300 phones. Happy Hollow, which receives $1 to $10 per recycled phone, passes the profits on to the Orangutan Conservancy in Malaysia and Indonesia. The program has raised $5,800 for the conservancy.

For Willow Glen resident and Happy Hollow board vice president Heather Lerner, the partnership between Happy Hollow and a local business was a perfect way to bring an international cause into the community.

"I'm very into collaboration," Lerner says. "This was just putting a basket out and collecting phones, and all of a sudden you're helping an endangered species."

Starbucks district manager Mike Healy says managers and employees often told him how they enjoyed taking their children to Happy Hollow. Healy contacted Happy Hollow management and offered to assist them with their cell phone recycling program for a month.

This was Happy Hollow's first partnership with the business community. This relationship extends the park's program beyond Happy Hollow and reaches donors who may not frequent the San Jose park and zoo. Willow Glen resident Patrick Coleman, a 15-year Happy Hollow volunteer and board treasurer, hopes other local businesses will follow suit.

Happy Hollow began the cell phone recycling program two years ago under the leadership of Vanessa Rogier.

"We knew there was a serious issue with cell phone waste. People, in general, were not sure what to do with it," Rogier says. "This gives people in the community an opportunity to participate in conservation."

Happy Hollow became the first zoo in the country to collect cell phones, encouraging its visitors to drop off old cell phones before enjoying a day at the park.

Rogier says, "This was a good match for busy people. A lot of people come with their strollers and kids and are ready to roll, and they drop off their cell phones."

The park has since collected more than 5,000 phones from local residents who drop off their phones as well as people and companies across the country or in Europe who have shipped collected phones to Happy Hollow.

Happy Hollow turns the phones over to Eco-Cell, a Kentucky-based recycling organization. According to Eco-Cell, nearly 40 million phones are replaced by newer models each year in the United States. In 2005, Eco-Cell estimated that more than 700 million phones remained unused, many stashed away in homes and offices.

When cell phones are discarded in landfills, they leak persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic chemicals, or PBTs, into the environment. Cell phone components are also coated with coltan, an ore that is found in the middle of the endangered gorilla and elephant habitats in the Congo. Recycling phones, Rogier says, lessens the need for coltan to be mined and protects these habitats.

Eco-cell recycles older-model phones, but more recent models are donated to individuals who are victims of domestic violence, who can use the phone to call for help. The recycled phones are also sold as an alternative to new phones in South America.

For Lerner, the project benefited her family, the park and zoo. Last year, her son, Noah, was looking for community service work for his fourth-grade project at Hacienda Environmental Science Magnet School.

"For a 9-year-old, he has an incredible passion for conservation and animals," Lerner says.

Noah adopted Happy Hollow's cause as his own, drafting letters to his Willow Glen neighbors, requesting their old cell phones for the Orangutan Conservancy and spare change for Happy Hollow's jaguar conservation efforts.

Then Noah made his way door-to-door on Carolyn Avenue. He hoped to collect a handful of phones and up to $70 in change. Instead, neighbors gave Noah 13 old cell phones and $165 in change.

"It really surprised him how well he did," Lerner says. "I was so pleased with it."

Through her son, Lerner saw firsthand how small efforts can make a big difference. That's what Lerner and Coleman hope to accomplish on a larger scale as they continue to advocate for Happy Hollow's various programs.

Coleman, who got involved with Happy Hollow because of his son, says Happy Hollow has donated thousands of dollars to the Belize Audubon Society to protect jaguars. The park and zoo also raises funds for canine bullet-resistant vests and collects used vests for wildlife rangers in Africa. The group also provides scholarships for needy children to attend the park's zoo camps.

"It's not only helping animals; it's helping people," Coleman says.

Rogier commends board members and Willow Glen residents Coleman, Lerner and George Rix for their commitment to Happy Hollow.

"It's a real privilege that people in the community feel so strongly about Happy Hollow," Rogier says. "They bring the community right to our doorstep."

Starting Feb. 9, it will be illegal to throw away cell phones and other electronic waste. Happy Hollow Park & Zoo will accept cell phones at 1300 Senter Road. For more information, call 408.277.3065.