City of Englewood and Verizon Wireless Donate Wireless Phones to Help Victims of Domestic Abuse

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The City of Englewood Department of Safety Services and Verizon Wireless today announced the collection of more than 100 wireless phones that will be recycled and donated to domestic violence shelters so that potential victims can have increased safety and mobility. Employees and residents of the City of Englewood collected the wireless phones that were handed over to Verizon Wireless today.

These phones from the City of Englewood will be added to wireless phones collected at Verizon Wireless retail stores throughout the Denver metro area. The collection campaign that Verizon Wireless kicked off in May of this year, netted more than 2200 no longer used wireless phones. The phones collected during this three-month effort will be refurbished and donated, with two years of service from Verizon Wireless, to organizations working to combat domestic abuse.

"Often, domestic violence victims don't have access to a phone to call for immediate assistance or protection from perpetrators," said Marni Walden, president of the Mountain Region for Verizon Wireless. "Wireless phones can make a big difference to both staff and victims by providing instant and easy access to law enforcement and a 24-hour domestic violence hotline."

Since January, Verizon Wireless has donated two years of airtime on more than 500 wireless phones that have been given to domestic abuse prevention organizations throughout Colorado. The phones are pre-programmed so victims can reach 911 and other emergency services with the push of a button when they feel threatened.

"There are many ways to help others and to touch peoples' lives, donating used cell phones and accessories to fight domestic violence is one of the best," said Susan McDonnell, victim services coordinator for the Englewood Department of Safety Services. "I urge everyone that has a cell phone tucked in a drawer or that is no longer being used, to donate it to join in the battle against domestic abuse."

In October, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, these phones and many others, will be presented to domestic abuse prevention agencies across the country.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. with more than 25 million wireless voice and data customers and nearly 4 million paging customers. The new coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp --now Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) -- and Vodafone AirTouch Plc (LSE:VOD; NYSE:VOD). The new company includes the assets of Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, GTE Wireless, PrimeCo Personal Communications and AirTouch Paging. The new company has a footprint covering nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets. Verizon Wireless, headquartered in New York City and Bedminster, NJ, is 30,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company in its Media Center on the Web at: http://www.verizonwireless.com/mediacenter.

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