Casa De Esperanza Receives $100,000 Donation From Verizon To Raise Awareness About Domestic Violence

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Casa de Esperanza, a leading national domestic violence prevention agency focused on Latinas, is receiving a $100,000 donation from HopeLine® from Verizon and the Verizon Foundation. The donation will provide continued support for the Hope Campaign, whose emphasis goes beyond education and focuses on providing concrete tools and ideas for people to take action in their daily lives to promote healthy relationships. The financial support will also fund a digitally-based youth peer education curriculum for Latinos that develops leadership, presentation and facilitation skills.

“Because one in four Latinas will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, we believe that one of the important ways to change this reality is to create greater access to information, resources and tools designed by and for Latino communities,” said Amy Sánchez, chief executive for external relations at Casa de Esperanza. “Verizon continues to be a trusted partner by supporting our prevention efforts, and we are truly grateful for their commitment to this issue.”

“There is a great need for domestic violence education within the Latino community and we are honored to bring resources to Casa de Esperanza to help serve this need,” said Elva Lima, executive director of community relations and multicultural communications for Verizon Wireless. “Verizon Wireless and the Verizon Foundation continue to uphold a longstanding commitment to raising awareness of domestic violence and aiding in its prevention. Through this donation, we know that Casa de Esperanza will continue its work on the ground to ensure that Latino communities have access to the support and resources they need.”

The Hope Campaign was created by Casa de Esperanza and funded by HopeLine from Verizon based on the belief that no one is born violent and violence is a learned behavior. It was launched in 2009 and puts the work of ending domestic violence in the hands of individuals by providing tools, including PSAs, and an interactive website to help recognize the positive impact words and actions can have against domestic violence. The program also provides bilingual prevention and intervention information such as webinars, manuals and DVDs for other organizations as well as encourages people of all ages to take the Pledge of Hope. To learn more about this program, visit www.casadeesperanza.org/hope-campaign.

HopeLine from Verizon puts the nation’s most reliable wireless network to work in the community by turning no-longer-used wireless phones into support for victims and survivors of domestic violence. Proceeds from HopeLine are used to provide wireless phones and airtime to victims of domestic violence and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention. Since HopeLine’s national cell phone recycling and reuse program launched in 2001, Verizon Wireless has awarded more than $14 million in cash grants to domestic violence agencies and organizations throughout the country and distributed nearly 123,000 phones with more than 406 million minutes of free wireless service to be used by victims of domestic violence.

Verizon Wireless offers a direct link for help across its nationwide wireless network through #HOPE, which provides victims with an avenue to safety and independence. By dialing “#HOPE” from any Verizon Wireless phone on our nationwide network, victims of domestic violence are able to access professional support quickly and confidentially. The toll- and airtime-free call is routed to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE).

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, uses its technology, financial resources and partnerships to address critical social issues, with a focus on education and domestic violence prevention. In 2010, the foundation awarded nearly $67 million to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation’s largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered nearly 6 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

For more information on Casa de Esperanza and the Hope Campaign, visit www.casadeesperanza.org.  To learn more about HopeLine from Verizon, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

About Casa de Esperanza
Casa de Esperanza is the National Latin@ Domestic Violence Resource Center whose mission is to mobilize Latinas and Latin@ communities to end domestic violence. The organization’s National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities incorporates training and technical assistance, a public policy initiative in Washington, D.C., and a research center in Atlanta, GA, in an effort to advance effective responses to eliminate violence and promote healthy relationships. Headquartered in St. Paul, MN, Casa de Esperanza also works within communities by providing advocacy, emergency shelter, a 24-hour bilingual crisis line, and opportunities for peer education. For more information, please visit www.casadeesperanza.org.

About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with nearly 109 million total connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500. A Dow 30 company with $111 billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 194,000. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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