PITTSBURGH, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon
launched its HopeLine phone donation drive in southwest
Pennsylvania with participating
organizations including Allegheny
County and the City of
Pittsburgh. The county-wide drive supports Verizon's goal of
collecting 1 million donated phones by the end of 2015 with
proceeds supporting domestic violence awareness and prevention
initiatives.
Allegheny County Executive Rich
Fitzgerald launched the drive with leaders from
participating organizations at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh on Tuesday,
Oct. 6. Fitzgerald formally kicked off the drive by donating
the inaugural phone to a HopeLine collection box at the
courthouse.
"Domestic violence is an issue which impacts people from all
walks of life. It recognizes no race, gender, income, religion or
other feature," announced County Executive Fitzgerald. "We believe
that it's time for No More domestic violence in Allegheny County, and throughout the world,
and are proud to be part of the HopeLine collection event. Donation
boxes will be available in county offices throughout the month of
October, allowing us to make a difference while also continuing to
raise awareness of the issue and support initiatives to end
domestic violence."
Fitzgerald was joined by William
Carnahan of Verizon State Government Affairs; Kristy Trautmann, executive director of FISA
Foundation; and Julie DeSeyn, vice
president of community impact for United Way of Allegheny County. Mr. Carnahan presented a
$30,000 grant to Southwest PA Says No
More, an initiative showcasing domestic violence prevention
activities in the region, and encouraged others to take action.
"Every 9 seconds in the U.S. a woman is assaulted or beaten and
more than 20,000 calls are placed to domestic violence hotlines
nationwide," said Mr. Carnahan. "Thank you for your commitment to
tackling this devastating epidemic in Allegheny County and across the country."
Several organizations are participating in the HopeLine phone
drive, including United Way of Allegheny
County, FISA Foundation, Pressley
Ridge, Family Resources, Jewish Community Center of
Greater Pittsburgh, East End
Cooperative Ministry, and STANDING FIRM.
HopeLine collects no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries,
chargers and accessories in any condition – from any service
provider – and turns them into support for domestic violence
awareness and prevention organizations. Since it was established in
2001, the HopeLine program has collected more than 11.4 million
phones, donated nearly 200,000 phones, and awarded more than
$29 million in cash grants to
domestic violence awareness and prevention organizations.
Residents can also take action against domestic violence by
dropping off a phone at any Verizon store. Visit
verizon.com/about/HopeLine for additional ways to get involved.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in
New York, employs a diverse
workforce of 178,500 and generated more than $127 billion in 2014 revenues. Verizon Wireless
operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 109.5
million retail 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 worldwide. For more
information, visit www.verizon.com/news/.
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive
speeches and biographies, media contacts and other information are
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Media
contact:
Laura Merritt
(614) 561-2605
Laura.Merritt@VerizonWireless.com
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SOURCE Verizon Wireless