Penn State Joins Verizon Program To Benefit Domestic Violence Survivors

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA — In an effort that supports both domestic violence survivors and the environment, Penn State last fall became the first university in Pennsylvania to join the Verizon Wireless UHopeLine Program.

Organized through Penn State's Center for Women Students, the program recycles old wireless phone equipment and uses the proceeds to help local survivors of domestic violence.

The Center for Women Students partnered with Verizon Wireless to launch the project at the University Park campus, placing two phone-recycling bins at the HUB-Robeson Center and Paterno Library. Anyone with old wireless equipment -- phones, cords and batteries -- is encouraged to drop it into the boxes, regardless of condition, age or brand.

Verizon also donated $20,000 to the Center to support its work in sexual violence awareness and education

UHopeLine, an expansion of the company’s HopeLine® phone recycling program, is designed to increase awareness of dating violence, provide aid to domestic violence survivors and encourage college students to help the environment by recycling their no-longer-used wireless devices. Proceeds from the recycling program will, in turn, benefit local domestic violence survivors by providing wireless phones and service to them.

Verizon Wireless began collecting and recycling old wireless phones in 1999. To date, the HopeLine program has collected more than 8 million wireless phones, awarded more than $10 million in cash grants and provided nearly 106,000 phones with 319 million minutes of airtime to domestic violence prevention organizations across the country.

Additionally, HopeLine has successfully disposed of more than 1.7 million no-longer-used cell phones in an environmentally sound manner, keeping over 210 tons of electronic waste and batteries out of landfills.

With the important role wireless devices play in the lives of campus communities, the UHopeLine project provides a way to encourage students to recycle their phones and serves as a valuable educational tool in the fight against date and domestic violence.

Located in 204 Boucke Building on the University Park campus, the Center for Women Students provides advocacy, resources and referrals to women students at Penn State. The Center offers informational materials and educational programming on a range of issues including sexual assault, relationship violence, harassment, classroom climate and body image, among others. Male students with concerns about these issues or who have experienced them in their own lives are encouraged to use the Center's services.

For more information, visit http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/womenscenter/ or call (814) 863-2027.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest, most advanced 4G network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 106.3 million total wireless connections, including 89.7 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 83,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit 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.   ####