Verizon Wireless Combats Domestic Violence With $30,000 In Grants In New Jersey And New York Metro region

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Verizon Wireless, the leading wireless company with the most reliable voice and data network, has awarded $30,000 in grants to fund new and expanded domestic violence prevention and education programs in the New York Metro region. The grants, $10,000 each, were awarded to Jewish Family Services of Clifton, N.J., and Sanctuary for Families and Day One, two of the largest domestic violence prevention organizations in New York City. Funding was made possible through the company's HopeLine^® wireless phone recycling program.

A recognized corporate leader for its commitment to preventing domestic violence and raising awareness of the issue, Verizon Wireless was the first wireless carrier in the nation to collect and recycle old cell phones and has done so since January 1999 — first in New Jersey and then across the U.S. The wireless equipment is refurbished or recycled in an environmentally sound manner and the proceeds used to provide wireless phones and service and cash grants to local organizations and shelters that provide direct services to victims of domestic violence.

During the past five years, Verizon Wireless has awarded 15 HopeLine grants in New Jersey and New York to commemorate domestic violence month, for a total of $150,000.

"All community-minded citizens who donate their no-longer-used wireless phones at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores help make these grants possible," said Charles Hand, Verizon Wireless New York Metro region president. "Clearly, the HopeLine phone recycling program is working to support domestic violence prevention and help women and their families re-build their lives."

New Jersey's 2007 HopeLine grant recipient is the new "Cut it Out" program, administered by Project S.A.R.A.H. through Jewish Family Services of Clifton. A national initiative to train hair salon and wig stylists to become resources for victims of domestic violence, the local "Cut it Out" program will focus on Orthodox Jewish, African American and Latina women in Bergen, Essex, Union and Passaic counties who visit salons and wig stylists frequently.

At Sanctuary for Families, the HopeLine grant will enhance the organization's growing outreach to the underserved LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community in New York City and its unique domestic violence issues. The grant also will help underwrite the cost of the annual Interagency Task Force Against Domestic Violence Conference on Intimate Partner Domestic Violence in LGBT Communities, held each October in New York City.

The third 2007 HopeLine grant to Day One will support expansion of the organization's "Not a Wifebeater" pilot program, which focuses on the issue of teen dating and relationship abuse. Launched in early 2007, the interactive preventive education program supplies teen groups with tank tops and art supplies to create and design their own anti-violence messages, challenging them to examine language they hear daily that reinforces stereotypes and promotes violence. The tank tops designed during the 2007 — 2008 program year will be displayed publicly at 20 different sites around the city.

Nationally, the Verizon Wireless HopeLine program has collected nearly more than 4 million wireless phones, and given more than $4 million in cash grants and more than 45,000 phones with airtime to domestic violence prevention organizations. Locally, HopeLine's direct and in-kind donations total more than $650,000 including more than $150,000 to the New York City Family Justice Center Initiative.

In addition to a successful phone recycling program and funding for non-profit domestic violence prevention organizations, HopeLine includes free wireless service and voice mailboxes for survivors, community and corporate awareness initiatives, and a bilingual "Invest in Yourself" program designed to help survivors re-enter the workforce.

Phone donations are accepted at all Verizon Wireless Communications Stores in the New York Metro area and throughout the country. For store locations and additional information about HopeLine, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

Verizon Wireless also offers customers a quick and easy way to access professional and confidential help through the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Any victim or anyone looking for information on the issue can dial #HOPE (#4673) from any Verizon Wireless phone to reach the hotline. The call is toll and airtime free.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 63.7 million customers. The largest U.S. wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 68,000 employees nationwide. The company 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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