Verizon Wireless Marks Rockville Center Store Grand Opening with Donations to Crossing Guards Local

ROCKVILLE CENTER, NY — Consumers who buy a wireless phone and sign a new two-year service contract at the Verizon Wireless Communications Store in Rockville Center next weekend will walk away with more than just the area's most reliable wireless communications. They'll go home with the knowledge that a wireless phone will be donated to a Nassau County crossing guard, making the streets safer for local school children.

As part of its five-day grand opening celebration, September 13- 17, 2001, Verizon Wireless will donate one wireless phone to the County Police for every new phone sold at Rockville Center on Saturday, September 15 and Sunday, September 16, 2001. The donated phones, specially programmed to dial 9-1-1 and the Nassau County Police, will be distributed to crossing guards enabling them to summon help quickly and easily in an emergency without leaving their posts.

"School crossing guards are a key factor in keeping our children safe on the way to and from school," said Charles Drummond, manager of the new Rockville Center Communications Store. "These phones will provide a wireless safety net for guards stationed at some of the county's busiest intersections where both vehicular and pedestrian traffic are heavy."

Drummond said the phone donations are part of the company's HopeLine® community service program which puts wireless technology to work to help communities. Since 1995, the company has donated or recycled more than 45,000 phones in the New York Metro area including 50 phones donated to Nassau County crossing guards in 1997.

The Rockville Center Communications Store, located at the corner of Sunrise Highway and Park Avenue, is the company's fifth retail location in Nassau County and one of 12 new locations Verizon plans to open this year in the New York Metro Area. Store hours are Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

In addition to a ribbon-cutting ceremony, store grand opening festivities scheduled for Saturday, September 15, include special appearances by New York Mets' Manager Bobby Valentine and Outfielder Joe McEwing from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., a special remote broadcast by WKTU-FM, and clowns, face painters and refreshments for all.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. with more than 28 million wireless voice and data customers. The coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD), including Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, GTE Wireless and PrimeCo Personal Communications. Verizon Wireless has a footprint covering more than 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 97 of the top 100 U.S. markets. The company, headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, is 40,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com.

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