Verizon Wireless Donates $3,950 To Harmony House In Springfield, Missouri For Domestic Violence Prevention

SPRINGFIELD, MO — Verizon Wireless, through the Verizon Foundation, has donated $3,950 to Harmony House, a domestic violence agency based in Springfield, Missouri. The donation will be used to support a year-long domestic violence awareness program that will officially begin during the month of October. The first event, the annual Night of Unity, is scheduled to take place on October 3 at the Gillioz Theatre in Springfield beginning at 6:30 p.m.

“Verizon Wireless is proud to be a sponsor of the Night of Unity event and support domestic violence prevention efforts in Springfield throughout the year,” said Brendan Fallis, president of the Kansas/Missouri Region, Verizon Wireless. “This is a cause our company feels strongly about and we are committed to helping Harmony House break the cycle of domestic violence.”

“Verizon’s generosity and commitment to this cause is very encouraging as we set to make a difference in the community,” said Rodney Dwyer, Executive Director of Harmony House. “Domestic violence crosses all demographic boundaries, regardless of age, education, race or socioeconomic status. Our partnership with Verizon will allow us to continue to provide innovative awareness programs and support to save lives in the Springfield area.”

In addition to this grant, Verizon Wireless supports domestic violence agencies around the country through the HopeLine® phone recycling and reuse program.

Throughout 2010, HopeLine collected more than 1.1 million phones and awarded more than $2.1 million grants to nearly 450 domestic violence prevention and awareness programs. Moreover, through HopeLine, Verizon Wireless provided 25,392 phones with a total of 75 million free minutes of service to shelters and agencies nationwide for use by clients. This year, Harmony House will make 60 wireless phones available for use by victims of domestic violence in the Springfield area.

Since 2001, HopeLine has collected more than 8 million phones; awarded more than $10 million in cash grants to prevention and awareness programs nationwide; properly disposed of nearly 1.7 million no-longer-used wireless phones in an environmentally sound way; distributed more than 160,000 phones with approximately 319 million minutes of free wireless service to be used by victims of domestic violence; and kept more than 210 tons of electronic waste and batteries out of landfills.

For more information about HopeLine from Verizon visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline. If you or someone you know is a domestic violence victim call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 to talk to a counselor. All calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline are confidential.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest 4G network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 106.3 million total wireless connections, including 89.7 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 83,000 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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