Verizon Wireless And The Green Bay Packers Connect To Support Domestic Violence Prevention In Wisconsin

GREEN BAY, WI — In an effort to help fight domestic violence in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Verizon Wireless is teaming up with the Green Bay Packers to help provide protection where it is needed most – off the field.

The season-long awareness campaign, called “Protection is the Name of the Game,” is an extension of Verizon Wireless award-winning HopeLine program. It will include a phone drive at all Packers home games during the regular season; financial donations to domestic violence organizations in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; and a public service announcement featuring a popular Packers player and his wife.

“Since 1995, Verizon Wireless has been committed to supporting those affected by domestic violence,” said T.J. Fox, region president for Verizon Wireless. “Statistics show that one out of every three American women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. Through this campaign with the Packers, we hope to take vital steps toward ending the cycle of violence by educating the general public on this pervasive national epidemic.”

“Protection is the Name of the Game” will include the following initiatives:

• Season-Long HopeLine® Phone Drive: Verizon Wireless and the Packers will be collecting no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries and accessories at all Packers home games during the regular season. Fans can donate their old phones at one of three HopeLine collection boxes near the Verizon Wireless gate and at guest services in the Atrium. Most of the phones will be refurbished or sold with the proceeds used to purchase newer wireless phones for domestic violence survivors and to support area domestic violence shelters and organizations. Phones that can’t be refurbished will be recycled in an environmentally-sound way.
• $10/One Phone Match: For each phone collected during the season-long HopeLine drive, Verizon Wireless will donate $10 to a local domestic violence shelter. Domestic violence organizations that will benefit from the program include Golden House (Green Bay, Wis.), Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter and Home (Calumet, Mich.), Sojourner Family Peace Center (Milwaukee), New Horizons Shelter and Women’s Center (La Crosse, Wis.), Hope House of South Central Wisconsin (Baraboo, Wis.), Haven House (Merrill, Wis.), and Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (Madison, Wis.).
• 30-second public service announcement (PSA): Produced by Verizon Wireless, a public service announcement featuring Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson and his wife Emily will be broadcast on television and radio stations through Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and shown on the Lambeau Field TundraVision during each Packers home game. The PSA encourages fans to donate their old phones to HopeLine.

“The Green Bay Packers are proud to partner with Verizon Wireless to help provide support to those affected by domestic violence and ultimately put an end to it,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. “Every Packers fan who attends a home game will have a chance to provide a lifeline to someone in the community by simply donating their old phone to HopeLine. Our fans are among the most supportive in all of sports, and we know that they will do their part to support this important initiative.”

More About the HopeLine Program
Since 2001, HopeLine has collected more than 7 million wireless phones, awarded more than $7.9 million in cash grants to domestic violence organizations throughout the country and by the end of this year, will have donated more than 90,000 HopeLine phones with 300 million minutes of airtime to victims, survivors and domestic violence organizations.

Fans unable to attend a game this season can still donate their no-longer-used phones at any Verizon Wireless Communications Store at any time. To find the store closest to you, visit www.verizonwireless.com.

Stay in the know about Verizon Wireless news in the Wisconsin/Illinois Region, follow @VZWCarolyn on Twitter at http://twitter.com/vzwcarolyn.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 92 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 79,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit 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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