Domestic Violence Prevention Groups In North Carolina Benefit From Verizon Wireless' HopeLine Phone Recycling Program

CHARLOTTE, NC — Throughout 2006, wireless customers in North Carolina donated nearly 25,000 no-longer-used wireless phones to Verizon Wireless' HopeLine^® phone recycling program, to support domestic violence prevention and awareness programs nationwide. As a result of these collections, phones with airtime minutes and proceeds raised from refurbished phones were donated to local shelters and other organizations working to support victims of domestic violence.

Several North Carolina agencies received assistance from HopeLine in 2006 including Helpmate in Asheville, Durham Rescue Mission in Durham, Mainstay, Inc. in Hendersonville, My Sister's House in Mooresville, United Family Services' Shelter for Battered Women in Charlotte, Onslow Woman's Shelter in Jacksonville, and North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

"Over the past 12 years, HopeLine has grown significantly and is now a multifaceted program that includes a successful phone recycling and re-use effort and financial support for local and national domestic violence organizations," said Carly Culbertson, spokesperson for the Carolinas/Tennessee Region of Verizon Wireless. "Because of the phone donations, we are able to support community and corporate awareness programs and partner with law enforcement agencies, professional sports teams, educational institutions and corporations nationwide."

Verizon Wireless customers across the country donated over 910,000 no-longer-used wireless phones to HopeLine in 2006, resulting in donations of nearly $1.3 million in cash grants and more than 16,000 HopeLine phones with airtime and other features to domestic violence organizations and shelters.

Nationwide, since October of 2001 when Verizon Wireless launched its national recycling program, HopeLine has collected more than 3.5 million phones. The program has properly disposed of more than 800,000 in an environmentally sound way and refurbished the remaining for resale and reuse with domestic violence organizations. Over the past five years, Verizon Wireless also distributed more than $3 million in cash grants and nearly 40,000 phones to domestic violence prevention and awareness programs across the country.

Verizon Wireless is a recognized corporate leader for its commitment to preventing domestic violence and raising awareness of the issue. No-longer-used phones are collected in more than 2,200 Communications Stores across the country. For more information on Verizon Wireless' HopeLine program and on how to donate a wireless phone, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.  

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving more than 59 million customers. The largest US wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ, with 65,000 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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