Public Encouraged to Donate No-Longer-Used Wireless Phones at Mother's Day Orioles Game at Camden Yards

BALTIMORE, MD — Take me out to the ballgame, but don't forget to bring your old wireless phone. That's what the Baltimore Orioles are hoping fans will do at the team's upcoming Sunday, May 14th Mother's Day game against the Kansas City Royals. The Orioles are joining forces with Verizon Wireless through the company's HopeLine® program to collect no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories to benefit the House of Ruth, a local domestic violence shelter. Verizon Wireless will donate $5 for each wireless phone collected up to a maximum of $5,000.

According to the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, there were 26 domestic violence homicides in the Baltimore metropolitan area alone in the most recent reporting year, and many of these victims were mothers.

"If our involvement in this program saves even one life, the value of our partnership will be immeasurable," said Julie Wagner, director of corporate relations for the Baltimore Orioles. "We know we can count on our fans to bring the cell phones they no longer use to the stadium to support this cause."

"By doing something as simple as donating a wireless phone, you can truly make a difference for victims of domestic violence," said Tami Erwin, regional president of Verizon Wireless in Washington, Baltimore and Virginia. "A donated phone can act as a lifeline for domestic violence victims in the state."

The phone collection effort is part of Verizon Wireless' HopeLine wireless phone recycling program. HopeLine collects no-longer-used wireless phones to be refurbished, recycled or sold; proceeds are donated to domestic violence advocacy groups or used to purchase wireless phones with airtime for emergency use by victims. Since 2001, consumers have donated more than 3 million phones to HopeLine and more than 600,000 phones have been recycled. Verizon Wireless has distributed nearly $10 million in cash and in-kind contributions to local domestic violence prevention and awareness programs across the country. In addition to benefiting victims of domestic violence, HopeLine provides an environmentally-friendly method for recycling used phones. All Verizon Wireless Communications stores nationwide participate in the HopeLine program.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 53 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at 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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