Verizon Wireless Gives Holiday Donation To San Diego YWCA Facilities

SAN DIEGO, CA — Volunteers and participants of two YWCA programs in San Diego received an early holiday gift of more than 170 pieces of furniture, courtesy of Verizon Wireless. Casa de Paz, a domestic violence shelter, and Becky's House, a transitional living facility, will benefit from the donation, which included several items that will be used for household furnishings as well as classroom-style furniture for counseling and job training rooms.

"We rely on donations to support the domestic violence prevention programs at Casa de Paz and Becky's House," said Brian Biber, chief operating officer of the San Diego YWCA. ""We appreciate the generous donation from Verizon Wireless which will benefit many families in our program to make a new start."

"With the holidays upon us, it feels terrific to give YWCA volunteers and participants something extra to be thankful for," said Verizon Wireless Regional President Mike Finley. "Verizon Wireless offers a variety of wireless products and pricing plans that make a difference for families. We're delighted to go even further to help families in the YWCA program who choose to make a better life for themselves and their children."

Casa de Paz provides comprehensive services for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. Following a 30-day stay, women who need job training and counseling services can move to Becky's House to prepare for independent living. Families are allowed to keep donated furniture and household items when they are ready to leave Becky's House.

Further donation information is available at:

Furniture donations: 619-239-0355

Clothing donations: 619-299-1474

Cash donations:
YWCA
c/o Becky's House
1012 C Street
San Diego, CA 92101

###

Verizon Wireless has Selected Domestic Violence as its Primary Philanthropic Focus Domestic violence affects our neighbors, friends and coworkers, with nearly one-third of American women reporting being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives. As a result, domestic violence is also a business issue that translates into lost productivity, medical expenses and employee absences. As a nationwide company, we are in the position to put our weight behind this issue, and we have many programs in place to increase awareness and prevention efforts among our employees and the communities we serve. These include sponsorship of the Family Violence Prevention Fund's Corporate Citizenship Initiative and its workplace poster campaign.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S.with 26.3 million wireless voice and data customers and 3.5 million paging customers. The new coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp -- now Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) -- and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). The new company includes the assets of Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, GTE Wireless, PrimeCo Personal Communications and AirTouch Paging. The company has a footprint covering nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets. Verizon Wireless, headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, is 32,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com.

####