University Of Idaho And Verizon Wireless Announce UHopeLine Cell Phone Recycling Program To Support Domestic Violence Prevention

MOSCOW, ID — The University of Idaho is taking a stance against domestic violence with the help of Verizon Wireless.

U-Idaho is partnering with Verizon Wireless and the Verizon Foundation to introduce UHopeLine®, an expansion of the company’s HopeLine® wireless phone recycling program. The program will increase awareness of dating violence, provide scholarship money for students studying domestic violence prevention and encourage college students to help the environment by recycling their old wireless devices.

The UHopeLine program will collect old wireless phones, batteries and accessories in any condition from any wireless server provider. Phones that can be refurbished are sold for reuse and those without value are disposed of in an environmentally sound way. UHopeLine collection bins can be found in the Idaho Commons Building and the Student Union Building.

As part of the program, $25,000 in scholarship funds will be available to qualifying students pursuing studies and careers in domestic violence education and prevention.

“Violence prevention professionals and victim advocates require high-level preparation,” said Bruce Pitman, dean of students at the University of Idaho. “Their educational preparation must take place at the intersections of criminal justice, social work and counseling. This is complex and difficult work that is based in experience and strong academic preparation. Unfortunately, we need many well prepared professionals to do this work.”

Domestic violence is the single greatest cause of injury to women ages 15-44 in the United States, more than muggings, car accidents and rapes combined, and affects one in four women.

“We believe it is everyone’s business to prevent domestic violence,” said Bobby Morrison, Verizon Wireless Pacific Northwest regional president. “Colleges, companies and citizens can all play a role by shining a light on the problem and ensuring survivors get help.”

In January 1999, Verizon Wireless became the first wireless carrier to collect and recycle old cell phones. Verizon Wireless created HopeLine® as part of its phone recycling program to increase awareness of dating violence, provide aid to domestic violence survivors and encourage college students to help the environment by recycling their unused wireless devices. Across the United States, the HopeLine® program has collected more than 7 million wireless phones and given more than $7.9 million in cash grants.

For more information about the Verizon Wireless HopeLine® program, visit http://verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho helps students to succeed and become leaders. Its land-grant mission furthers innovative scholarly and creative research to grow Idaho's economy and serve a statewide community. From its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to more than 70 research and academic locations statewide, U-Idaho emphasizes real-world application as part of its student experience. U-Idaho combines the strength of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. It is home to the Vandals, and competes in the Western Athletic Conference. Learn more: www.uidaho.edu.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves nearly 108 million total wireless connections, including 92.2 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with nearly 82,000 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.####