Bell Atlantic Mobile Donates Wireless Technology To Delaware Domestic Violence Coordinating Council

WILMINGTON, DE — Delaware are one step closer to leading safer and more productive lives due to a wireless technology donation by Bell Atlantic Mobile.

At a press conference recognizing October as "Domestic Violence Awareness Month," Robert F. Stott, regional president of Bell Atlantic Mobile, donated 40 voice mail boxes and 20 cellular phones pre-programmed with a 9-1-1 emergency number to the Delaware Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.

"Bell Atlantic Mobile is committed to helping domestic violence victims change their situations and to lead productive and safe lives," said Stott. "Our wireless products - such as voice mail service and phones - provides women with the vital link they need in order to communicate effectively and discreetly, and to seek immediate help if in danger."

"Through Bell Atlantic Mobile's generous donation, domestic violence victims now have expanded resources to help protect them while giving them an opportunity to change their situations for the better," said Raina Fishbane, executive director of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.

The voice mail boxes will serve as a communication tool in which women can discreetly and independently receive personal messages from counselors, potential employers, or family members.

This past year, through Bell Atlantic Mobile's "HopeLine" charitable initiative, more than 4,400 individuals, including domestic violence victims, received free voice mail service. By using the free service, hundreds of people were able to secure jobs and housing, and seek counseling .

Through Bell Atlantic Mobile's wireless phone donation, women will be able to get immediate help, in case of an emergency. "We've found that victims of domestic violence are vulnerable to threatening situations just about anywhere - in their car, on the streets and even in their own homes," said Stott. "By simply pressing one speed dial number, women will have a direct link to the police and hopefully, an added sense of security."

Bell Atlantic Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on the East Coast and the second largest in the United States. The company owns and operates the most extensive network in the East, covering 111,000 square miles, and the largest chain of wireless retail outlets offering a full range of wireless personal communications services, including voice, data and paging. Based in Bedminster, NJ, Bell Atlantic Mobile has 5 million customers and 7,000 employees in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and, through a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. The company is the chief wireless subsidiary of the new Bell Atlantic, formed through the merger of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX corporations.

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