The City and County of Honolulu, Verizon Wireless and Motorola Partner to Combat Domestic Violence

HONOLULU, HI — The City and County of Honolulu and Verizon Wireless, in conjunction with Motorola, today launched a public-private partnership to lessen the toll of domestic violence on local families, a toll that includes approximately 100,000 days of hospitalization, 30,000 emergency room visits, and 40,000 doctor visits in Hawaii each year according to the World Health Organization. Partnership initiatives include:

• Donation of 40 pre-programmed digital wireless phones and one year of airtime, courtesy of Verizon Wireless, Motorola and the national CALL to PROTECT philanthropic initiative, to Pu'uhonua, a program of Hawaii's Parents and Children Together.
• HopeLine^SM phone recycling drive. Verizon Wireless stores and City and County of Honolulu fire stations will accept used wireless phones, accessories and batteries through November 2nd to support domestic violence prevention.
• Awareness campaign. Domestic violence awareness posters are now displayed in 500 city buses, courtesy of Verizon Wireless and the City and County of Honolulu. Posters based on the same design are also available to businesses free of charge from Verizon Wireless.
• Donation of $14,000 by Verizon Wireless to Hawaii agencies engaged in aiding victims and preventing domestic violence.

"Verizon Wireless is proud to contribute to this partnership, which brings multiple approaches to bear on a situation that affects thousands of women in Hawaii each year," said Tony Simpson, Verizon Wireless regional president. "Working together we're providing a lifeline for victims of abuse and helping to promote awareness and prevention. In addition, our grants will provide support to three dedicated agencies for outreach and assistance."

"I am grateful that several city departments are able to play a vital role in this partnership," said Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris. "By serving as official collection sites during October, which is National Domestic Violence Prevention month, the Honolulu Fire Department's 42 fire stations throughout Honolulu will make it convenient for all our citizens to donate their used wireless phones. This effort, combined with the current donation of 40 wireless phones from Motorola and free service from Verizon Wireless will help battered women feel a bit safer. In addition, the posters in our city buses will keep awareness alive and put the national hotline number for help in front of everyone who rides the bus."

Phone and Service Donations

Pu'uhonua provides victims with a place where they can receive multiple services in one location, such as crisis counseling, legal assistance, police intervention and evidence collection. The 40 wireless phones will be loaned to victims who are in crisis. In the event of a life-threatening situation, pressing a single button on the pre-programmed phone will connect a victim with either a 911 operator or the Pu'uhonua crisis hotline.

"Motorola is pleased to apply its long history in wireless technology to help save lives by donating these phones through the CALL to PROTECT initiative, supported by free service from Verizon Wireless," said Tim Cawley, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, North American Region, Motorola, Inc.

Fire Stations Serve As HopeLine^SM Collection Point for Used Wireless Phones

Residents and businesses may participate in the Verizon Wireless HopeLine^SM program by dropping off their used wireless phones at any Verizon Wireless store or any City and County of Honolulu fire station between now and November 2nd. The collected phones will be sent to a recycling center and enable Verizon Wireless to provide wireless phones and donate airtime to more victims of domestic violence through human services organizations. All makes and models of wireless phones will be accepted, along with accessories and batteries.

Raising Awareness

To help raise the awareness of domestic violence, special DV awareness posters are now displayed in 500 city buses. The message on the posters, which feature images of women hiding the abuse they suffer, encourage victims to seek assistance by calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline to find out about local programs. The posters have been produced by Verizon Wireless and space on the buses provided courtesy of the City and County of Honolulu.

Domestic violence prevention workplace posters with the same images and hotline number are also available to interested businesses free of charge.

"According to the United States Department of Labor, between 17% and 20% of women killed in the workplace are murdered by spouses or boyfriends. Additionally, American companies lose approximately $5 billion every year in increased medical costs associated with battered employees," said Simpson. "We hope that Hawaii businesses will look at these compelling statistics and take action to join with us in giving hope to domestic violence victims," said Simpson. The free posters are available from Verizon Wireless by calling 808-544-8738.

$14,000 In Verizon Wireless Grants Announced

The Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline and Pu'uhonua are among Hawaii agencies that will receive grants from Verizon Wireless this month. The grants will be used to support a variety of vital services, including outreach to teenagers, assistance with childcare services for victims attending to court matters and a computer system for statewide training of battered women's advocates. (See separate Grant Fact Sheet for full details on agencies, programs and grant amounts.)

About Motorola, Inc.
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) is a global leader in providing integrated communications solutions and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2000 were $37.6 billion. More company information is available at www.motorola.com.

About Wireless Foundation
Wireless Foundation was established in 1993 by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) to initiate and oversee strategic philanthropic wireless communications programs to make communities safer, families more secure and teachers more effective. For more information, please visit the Wireless Foundation Web site at www.wirelessfoundation.org.

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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