Verizon Wireless Celebrates Diversity Best Practices During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

WALNUT CREEK, CA — Each May, communities around the country commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, honoring contributions made by people of Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage in the United States. Verizon Wireless is taking this opportunity to celebrate its commitment to workplace diversity and outreach programs that support and target the fast-growing Asian-American community.

The Asian-American population is expanding most quickly in California, according to latest Census figures. Five million Asians call California home, making it the state with the largest AAPI population in the United States.

Verizon Wireless is proud of its diverse and multicultural workforce of 69,000 employees. The company continues to drive workplace diversity by establishing programs to encourage the hiring and advancement of individuals of diverse backgrounds, including Asian-Americans.

In the Northern California/Nevada region, approximately one in five employees is of AAPI descent. A number of the region's employees are bilingual, speaking English and Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Vietnamese or Korean.

In addition to its diversity best practices, Verizon Wireless is committed to the Asian-American market in a meaningful way. This month, Verizon Wireless joins in the celebrations by hosting two major club events featuring the talented Korean singer "Se7en," who is renown for his K-pop, J-pop, R&B and pop performances.

The leading wireless company also connects with its Asian customers through culturally-appropriate advertising, in-language marketing and contract information, bi-lingual employees in Asian-designated stores, and sponsorship of popular community events and concerts.

Last November, Verizon Wireless conducted a highly successful domestic violence prevention campaign within California's Asian communities, featuring HopeLine®, its exclusive phone recycling and reuse program,. Verizon Wireless awarded more than $43,000 in grants to three Asian-American community groups and domestic violence prevention organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"As a member of the Bay Area AAPI community myself, I am very proud to be part of a company that makes such a consistent effort to understand the needs of its multicultural workforce and customers," said Jack Tang, executive director of network technology for Verizon Wireless. "Verizon Wireless will continue to serve our Asian language-speaking customers with our superior wireless network and focus on delivering the best possible wireless customer experience."

Verizon Wireless is the most widely used brand of service in wireless, and has ranked first in customer loyalty in the industry in each of the last 14 quarters. In California alone, the company has invested over $650 million to increase the coverage and capacity of its wireless network.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 67.2 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 69,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: 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®
Verizon Wireless encourages customers who are upgrading their wireless phone to participate in its exclusive HopeLine phone-recycling program. The national HopeLine program distributes previously owned wireless phones to victims of domestic violence, supports non-profit domestic violence advocacy groups and provides an environmentally safe method of recycling phones. Donations are accepted at any Verizon Wireless Communications Stores across the country. For additional information, customers can also visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

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