Verizon Wireless Customers Can Join In Earthquake And Cyclone Relief Efforts By Sending Text Messages To "4SAVE"

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — In a show of support for survivors of the natural disasters that occurred last month in China and Myanmar, Verizon Wireless is enabling its customers across the United States to join in the relief efforts by donating money to Save the Children, an agency that implements programs focused on early childhood health and development, child survival and child protection.

Beginning today, Verizon Wireless post-pay customers with phones capable of text messaging can use those phones to donate to Save the Children. To participate, customers can send a message to the address 4SAVE (47283) with the key word "quake" to contribute to earthquake relief or the key word "cyclone" to contribute to cyclone relief.

Texters will receive a reply message asking them to confirm a donation to Save the Children of $5 for the designated program. To do so, customers will press "Y" on their keypad and then send that message. Customers wishing to donate more than once can send up to four additional text messages to 4SAVE, for a total contribution of $25 to each effort.

The donations will appear on the customer's next monthly bill, and the entire amount of each donation will be provided to Save the Children to be used toward earthquake and cyclone relief and recovery efforts. Verizon Wireless will not charge for messages sent to customers as part of this program; however, standard text messaging rates will apply to messages customers send, but the fees collected from those messages will be donated by Verizon Wireless to Save the Children when the program is completed. The program will end on July 31, 2008.

"Because Save the Children has been working in Myanmar and China for more than a decade, we were positioned to respond to the immediate needs of hundreds of thousands of families when the disasters struck," said Charles MacCormack, president and chief executive officer of Save the Children. "Our staff has been working tirelessly to provide food, water, and health care supplies to the people affected by these emergencies, but there are still many more who need help. We thank Verizon Wireless for their support of our efforts and for giving their customers a way to help these communities recover and rebuild."

"Verizon Wireless customers send and receive nearly 20 billion text messages per month, and we're glad we've put this technology to use for such an important cause," said Lowell McAdam, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless. "On behalf of everyone at Verizon Wireless, we're happy to be able to facilitate the giving to help people in both countries."

Donations to Save the Children under this program are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. For more information on Save the Children, please visit www.savethechildren.org.  

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 Save the Children
Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) is the leading independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. For more than 75 years, Save the Children has been helping children survive and thrive by improving their health, education and economic opportunities and, in times of acute crisis, mobilizing rapid lifesaving assistance to help children recover from the effects of war, conflict and natural disasters.

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