Verizon Wireless Donates $10,000 To The New York City Family Justice Initiative

NEW YORK, NY — Verizon Wireless recently awarded a $10,000 donation to the New York City Family Justice Initiative, whose goal is to plan, develop and establish comprehensive support centers to assist families affected by domestic violence.

The donation was made possible by the generous support of New York City employees and residents who, during the month of October, donated their no-longer-used wireless phones to the company's HopeLine^® phone recycling program. HopeLine collects no-longer-used wireless phones to be refurbished, recycled or sold; proceeds are donated to domestic violence advocacy groups or used to purchase wireless phones with airtime for use by victims. Phones that cannot be refurbished are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.

"This donation is the result of neighbors helping neighbors," said Charles Hand, president of Verizon Wireless' New York Metro Region. "New York City residents recognize the devastating impact domestic violence can have on families and have responded by donating their old cellphones and chargers to this very worthy cause. We thank them for their generosity and encourage all New Yorkers to keep domestic violence survivors in their hearts and minds."

The New York City Family Justice Initiative provides a supportive environment with the objective of breaking the cycle of domestic violence by providing essential advocacy, case management, criminal legal assistance and civil legal assistance under one roof.

"Thanks to the HopeLine program and the community's support, we are able to continue to assist families to establish lives free from violence," said Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence Commissioner Yolanda B. Jimenez. "Verizon Wireless' support already has allowed us to help thousands of domestic violence survivors at the Family Justice Center in Brooklyn."

The City opened its first center in Brooklyn in July 2005. In its first year, the center served over 3,500 adult victims of domestic violence and 800 children. As a result, more domestic violence victims in Brooklyn are accessing services than ever before. The expansion of the Family Justice Center has become a central part of the City's public safety plan. In addition to the center in downtown Brooklyn, work is underway to open centers in Queens and the Bronx.

Verizon Wireless is a recognized leader in the fight to combat domestic violence and a founding supporter of the City's Family Justice Center in Brooklyn. Since October 2001, the Verizon Wireless HopeLine program has collected more than 3.5 million wireless phones and recycled more than 700,000, given $2 million in cash grants and nearly $10 million in wireless phones and service to domestic violence organizations.

In addition to cash grants, HopeLine provides free wireless phones, service and voice mailboxes for victims, community and corporate awareness initiatives, and a bilingual "Invest in Yourself" program designed to help survivors re-enter the workforce.

HopeLine phone donations also are accepted at all Verizon Wireless Communications Stores in New York City and across the nation. For store locations and additional information, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 57 million customers. The largest US wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 60,000 employees nationwide. The company 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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