New Jersey Nonprofits Received Nearly $3 Million in 2009 From the Verizon Foundation to Support Education, Literacy and Domestic Violence Prevention Initiatives

NEWARK, N.J., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1,200 nonprofit groups in New Jersey received nearly $3 million from the Verizon Foundation in 2009, enabling recipient organizations to improve literacy skills, enhance educational opportunities for children, and assist domestic violence survivors.

In addition, Verizon employees volunteered more than 63,000 hours to nonprofit groups throughout the state in 2009.

"Verizon and its employees are proud to partner with thousands of nonprofit organizations throughout New Jersey to bring about positive change in the areas of education, domestic violence prevention and Internet safety," said Verizon New Jersey President Dennis Bone.

Among the recipients of grants awarded by Verizon in 2009 are:

• Seton Hall Law Public Interest Fellowship Program, which provides legal services to victims of domestic violence who cannot afford to pay for these services. 
• Junior Achievement of New Jersey, which provides programs for children to help them to grow into knowledgeable, motivated and contributing members of society.
• 180 Turning Lives Around Inc., which assists with training, support and operations of 180's Domestic Violence Response Teams to provide quality, professional services to the victims of domestic violence. 
• Woodland (Gloucester County) Community Development Corp., which is using the grant to help fund The Mary Esther Williams Homework Center, an after-school youth program that provides academic tutorial assistance.
• Stockton College William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy, which provides a program and lecture series is to ensure that the citizens of southern New Jersey are more engaged in the political and policymaking processes of their geographic region and the state.

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $67.5 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $26.1 million in combined contributions to nonprofits.  Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 91 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of approximately 222,900 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news.  To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon

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