Verizon Wireless Names Alabama First Lady Dianne Bentley a HopeLine Hero

MONTGOMERY, Ala., March 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- On Monday, Verizon Wireless presented First Lady Dianne Bentley with a 2012 HopeLine® Hero Award for her work to raise community awareness about the issue of domestic violence and her leadership in the collection of more than 2,500 phones for HopeLine® from Verizon. In addition, Verizon announced a $5,000 HopeLine grant would be given to the domestic violence organization of her choice.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120306/CL65324 )

HopeLine is Verizon's national recycling program, which collects no-longer-used wireless devices - all models, from all wireless carriers - and accessories to be refurbished, recycled and/or sold. Proceeds benefit victims of domestic violence through grants and the donation of wireless phones and service.

First Lady Bentley learned about the program while attending an event at One Place Family Justice Center in Montgomery and subsequently challenged the Governor's staff and cabinet to collect phones for the cause during the month of February. She presented the more than 2,500 phones to Verizon representatives at a press conference in Montgomery on Monday.

"Because of First Lady Bentley's dedication to this cause, Verizon will be able to give more HopeLine grant dollars in Alabama and put more phones in the hands of victims who need them," said Jonathan LeCompte, president - Georgia/Alabama region, Verizon Wireless. "We gratefully accept the donated phones and are honored to share her commitment by providing HopeLine funding to a domestic violence organization of her choosing."

Since HopeLine from Verizon's national cell phone recycling and re-use program was launched in 2011, Verizon Wireless has collected more than 9 million phones and funded more than $14.2 in cash grants for domestic violence organizations across the country. Verizon has also distributed nearly 123,000 HopeLine phones with the equivalent of more than 406 million minutes of wireless service for use by victims, survivors and organizations.

In Alabama, Verizon has provided grants to a wide variety of organizations such as the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Crisis Services of North Alabama, Montgomery's Family Sunshine Center, the YWCA of Central Alabama, and the Exchange Center for Child Abuse Prevention in Dothan, among others.

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.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless