Verizon Wireless Marks 10-Year Anniversary Of HopeLine Program With $250,000 Gift To University Of Kentucky Center For Research On Violence Against Women

BEDMINSTER, NJ — To mark the 10-year anniversary of Verizon Wireless' HopeLine^SM program, the company today announced a $250,000 gift to The University of Kentucky Center for Research on Violence Against Women. The gift is the largest amount pledged by Verizon Wireless to a single organization to support domestic violence prevention and awareness. It will be used by the University's Center to establish and endow a professorship of studies on violence against women.

"Over the past decade, the HopeLine program has grown significantly and along the way has helped so many victims — keeping them safe and helping them rebuild their lives," said Denny Strigl, president and CEO of Verizon Wireless. "We're thankful to our customers and the countless other consumers, organizations and businesses that have participated in the program and helped make possible gifts like that pledged to the University of Kentucky Center for Research on Violence Against Women."

The professorship established by the Verizon Wireless endowment will be focused on innovative research on violence against women and women's health and will be based in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.

The gift will be matched dollar for dollar by the state of Kentucky through its Research Challenge Trust Fund, which was established in 1997 to promote research and allow the state's universities to attract and retain renowned faculty and researchers in critical areas of science and economic development.

"From donating phones and airtime to funding direct service programs for survivors, Verizon Wireless has a proven track record of supporting domestic violence awareness and prevention," said Carol E. Jordan, director of the University of Kentucky Center for Research on Violence Against Women. "Through this gift, Verizon Wireless builds on its vital work of protecting women in the present day by investing in the future of women. The professorship established by the Verizon Wireless endowment significantly advances our efforts to better understand and one day end acts of violence committed against women."

HopeLine Highlights from 2004
In 2004, consumers donated three-quarters of a million phones to HopeLine, up more than 35 percent from the previous year, and bringing the total to nearly two million phones since the national phone collection and recycling efforts began in 2001. Additional milestones for the HopeLine program in 2004 include:

• More than $800,000 donated to shelters and organizations to support domestic violence prevention programs and victims' services;
• More than 11,000 phones, along with airtime and other features, provided to shelters to distribute for use by victims;
• More than 140,000 phones recycled in an environmentally safe way.

Addressing an Issue that Affects Everyone
Domestic violence in the United States knows no social or economic boundaries and can affect people in any community — including friends, family and co-workers. Across the country, Verizon Wireless has put its HopeLine program to work and seen the program grow.

"We have no more dedicated and generous corporate partner in our work to stop domestic violence than Verizon Wireless," said Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler. "The company's long-term work has not only given victims of domestic violence a way to call for help, it has also helped countless women and children feel safer and more secure. The growth of the HopeLine program and its ever-increasing reach are extraordinary. Our homes and communities would be safer if more companies joined Verizon Wireless in helping to stop violence against women."

Verizon Wireless created its long-running HopeLine program to put wireless products and services to work to combat domestic violence and raise awareness of the issue. When it began, the HopeLine program donated voicemail boxes to victims living in shelters. Today, the multi-faceted program also includes a successful phone recycling and re-use effort, financial support for regional and national non-profit domestic violence organizations, community and corporate awareness programs, and partnerships with law enforcement agencies, professional sports teams, educational institutions and corporations nationwide. Since 2001, the key element of the program has been a national recycling initiative — taking no-longer used wireless phones and accessories and turning them into help and support for victims of domestic violence and the agencies and shelters committed to helping.

How to Donate
Wireless phones and equipment can be donated to the HopeLine program at more than 1,200 Verizon Wireless Communications Store across the country. Wireless phones and equipment donations can also be sent to:

Verizon Wireless HopeLine
c/o ReCellular Inc
2555 Bishop Circle W.
Dexter, MI 48130

For more information about the HopeLine program please visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.  

About The Center for Research on Violence Against Women
The Center for Research on Violence Against Women was created in 2002 as a joint project of the University of Kentucky and the Office of the Kentucky Governor. The Center is committed to preparing students and advancing scientific inquiry into the legal and clinical complexities presented by domestic violence, rape, stalking and related crimes against women. The Center is dedicated to enhancing the welfare and safety of those impacted by these crimes through research, scholarship and public service.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 43.8 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com.  To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

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