Verizon Wireless Marks 10-Year Anniversary Of HopeLine Program With $2,500 Donation To Middle Way House, Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, IN — To mark the 10-year anniversary of Verizon Wireless' HopeLine^SM program, the company today announced a $2,500 gift to Middle Way House in Bloomington, Ind. The Middle Way House will use the donation to help fund programs- including violence prevention, tutoring, mentoring, child care, recreation, and arts and performance-for children and young adults in residence at, or newly exited from, its emergency shelter and transitional housing facility.

Through its award-winning HopeLine program, Verizon Wireless collects no-longer-used wireless phones and equipment from any vendor. Most of the donated phones and equipment are refurbished and sold with proceeds going to support domestic violence awareness and prevention programs. Any remaining phones are recycled in an environmentally friendly way.

"Verizon Wireless has a long history of supporting our organization with donations of phones and service for women who are in danger of being stalked and harassed by former abusive partners," said Toby Strout, executive director of Middle Way House. "It's truly wonderful to have this additional financial assistance from Verizon Wireless. This donation will enable us to continue helping hundreds of young people succeed in school, at home and in the wider community."

In 2004, consumers nationwide 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 program's national phone collection and recycling efforts began in 2001.

"Over the past decade, HopeLine has grown significantly and along the way has helped so many survivors-keeping them safe and helping them rebuild their lives," said Greg Haller, president—Indiana/Kentucky/Michigan Region, 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 this one pledged to Middle Way House."

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 them.

Wireless phones and equipment can be donated to the HopeLine program at more than 1,200 Verizon Wireless Communications Store across the country, including the Bloomington location at 903 S. College Mall Road. For more information about the HopeLine program please visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.  

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, N.J., 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.  

About HopeLine
2005 marks the 10 year anniversary of the Verizon Wireless HopeLine program, which puts wireless products and services to work to combat domestic violence. Today, HopeLine collects wireless phones and accessories from any wireless carrier and refurbishes or recycles them with proceeds benefiting victims of domestic violence. The environmentally friendly HopeLine Program also provides victims with essential communication tools — wireless phones and wireless services, including voicemail and pre-paid wireless minutes. Donations are accepted at all 1, 900-plus Verizon Wireless Communications Stores across the country. For additional information, customers can visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.  ####