Verizon Wireless' HopeLine Program Partners With Law Enforcement Officials To Aid In Domestic Violence Prevention Efforts

BASKING RIDGE, NJ and BOSTON, MA — Verizon Wireless yesterday presented Worcester, Mass. Police Chief Gary Gemme with its third HopeLine^® Law Enforcement Partnership Award. The award, presented during a ceremony held yesterday in Boston, recognizes members of law enforcement for their work in domestic violence prevention and awareness in local communities across the country. Verizon Wireless presented the award, along with a $10,000 financial grant to Daybreak, the domestic violence prevention agency of the Worcester, Mass. YWCA, in honor of Chief Gemme's contributions.

The HopeLine Law Enforcement Partnership Award honors the efforts of public safety organizations across the country committed to reducing domestic violence, providing support to victims, raising awareness of the issue and educating communities about domestic violence. The HopeLine Law Enforcement Partnership Award was previously presented to the New Orleans Police Foundation and the Domestic Violence Task Force of the New Orleans Police Department and Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist.

For more than a decade, Verizon Wireless has worked with law enforcement and government agencies to support domestic violence prevention and awareness efforts in communities nationwide through the company's HopeLine Phone Recycling Program. HopeLine's work with the law enforcement community includes donating high-speed BroadbandAccess Internet service to prosecutors, detectives and other personnel in local government domestic violence units; sponsoring phone collection drives in cooperation with local sheriff and police departments; and partnering with several states' Attorneys General offices to create campaigns around elder abuse, teen dating and other domestic violence issues. Most recently, HopeLine:

• Donated $5,000 to a domestic violence community program introduced by Tennessee's District Attorney General Bill Gibbons. The program puts beauty salon owners and managers through a training program to learn how to spot signs of domestic abuse and encourage victims to get help from local support services.
• Joined Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) in raising awareness of domestic violence on college campuses through the distribution of partner abuse awareness posters on campus and to community organizations for display in high-traffic locations and counseling centers.
• Partnered with the Virginia Attorney General's office to sponsor an ongoing recycling drive that resulted in more than 1,200 no-longer-used phones being collected.
• Teamed up with San Antonio's Family Violence Prevention Services (FVPS) for a HopeLine phone drive that yielded 325 donated wireless phones, resulting in a $3,250 donation to the FVPS Battered Women's Shelter Children's Program.
• Worked with the Utah state attorney general to raise awareness of domestic violence issues and call on Utah businesses to collect used wireless phones for HopeLine.

Verizon Wireless is a recognized corporate leader for its commitment to preventing domestic violence and raising awareness of the issue through the HopeLine program. HopeLine collects wireless phones and accessories from any wireless service provider, and then refurbishes the phones or recycles them in an environmentally sound way. Proceeds from the HopeLine program benefit victims of domestic violence and non-profit advocacy agencies, providing essential communication tools of wireless phones and wireless services, and financial grants.

For more information visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

(EDITORS NOTE: High-resolution stills of the HopeLine Award presentation are available online. Log on to Verizon Wireless' Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia to request images.)

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 54.8 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, 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.

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