Massachusetts Nonprofit Organizations Received More Than $3 Million in Community Grants in 2011 From the Verizon Foundation

BOSTON, Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nonprofit groups in Massachusetts that focused on education, domestic violence prevention and using technology to deliver or enhance health care received more than $3 million in 2011 from the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon.  

"Verizon is proud to support key nonprofit organizations throughout the nation that are helping to make a positive impact on society, especially in our local communities," said Rose Stuckey Kirk, president of the Verizon Foundation. "We continue our support in 2012 and look forward to using the innovative power of Verizon's network and technology to further enhance these vital programs."

In addition to the grants, Verizon employees volunteered more than 38,000 hours to nonprofit groups throughout Massachusetts in 2011. The Verizon Foundation supports employee volunteerism by awarding a $750 grant to a nonprofit organization when a Verizon employee volunteers 50 hours or more to the organization during the year. 

Local programs supported by the Verizon Foundation in 2011 include:

• Verizon Foundation Domestic Violence Solutions Awards -- $205,000 to 19 domestic violence service providers that focused on men's engagement, teen dating violence prevention and domestic violence awareness.  The providers include: Elizabeth Freeman Center of Pittsfield; Jeannie Geiger Crisis Center of Newburyport; and Voices Against Violence in Framingham.
• Health Care Initiative -- $25,000 to Partners Healthcare  to support a text-messaging program that promotes good health and nutrition with Boston Public School students, who also used wireless pedometers to measure the distances they walk and track the time they spend being active.
• STEM Education -- $75,000 to the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center to partner with the MIT Club of Cape Cod and the Chatham Public Schools to create a program to develop curriculum and teacher training materials in the STEM fields, with a specific focus on communications, engineering and design. 

In 2011, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $66 million to nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. 

The Verizon Foundation helps people to live healthy, safe and independent lives by addressing disparities in education, health care and sustainability.  Since 2000, the Verizon Foundation has invested more than half a billion dollars to improve the communities where Verizon employees work and live.  Verizon's employees are generous with their donations and their time, having logged more than 6.2 million hours of service to make a positive difference in their communities. For more information, visit www.verizonfoundation.org. 

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.

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 email, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon