Teachers Can Compete to Win a $10,000 Grant for Their School in Verizon Thinkfinity Home Run Sweepstakes

NEW YORK, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Teachers have a chance to hit a home run for their school and win a $10,000 technology makeover grant by entering the Verizon Thinkfinity Home Run Sweepstakes.

Teachers can enter by visiting the Verizon Thinkfinity Home Run Sweepstakes website at www.thinkfinity.org/homerun by June 14. Verizon Thinkfinity is comprehensive educational website that contains tens of thousands of free, engaging educational resources.

The contest is open to any teacher for grades 4, 5, 6 or 7 in the New York metropolitan area, including northern New Jersey and Connecticut. A complete list of contest rules and eligibility requirements can be found at www.thinkfinity.org/homerun.

The school of the winning entrant will receive a $10,000 technology makeover grant from the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon.  The grant will be presented to the winning teacher and his or her students at a ceremony at Citi Field on June 27, prior to the New York Mets-Minnesota Twins game.  The group will also receive free tickets to the game.

"Verizon Thinkfinity is a tremendous tool to help teachers save time, make learning fun and improve educational achievement," said Verizon Foundation President Patrick Gaston. "Through this contest, we hope to make even more teachers aware of the valuable lesson plans, professional-development opportunities and in-class activities they can find on Thinkfinity, all for free."

The Home Run Sweepstakes coincides with a significant expansion of Verizon Thinkfinity that includes:

• An increase in parental and after-school resources.
• An online Thinkfinity Community, a new feature where parents, administrators and teachers can share ideas, ask for assistance or discuss the topics of the day.
• Newsfeeds on the latest educational news.

In addition to providing tens of thousands of free educational resources for parents, teachers and students, Verizon Thinkfinity offers a comprehensive professional-development program that provides teachers with free online or face-to-face training.

Content for Verizon Thinkfinity is provided through a partnership between the Verizon Foundation and 11 of the nation's leading organizations in the fields of education and literacy: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Council for Economic Education, International Reading Association, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, National Center for Family Literacy, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Geographic Society, ProLiteracy and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

The Verizon Foundation supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded $67.9 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 $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, Nasdaq: 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 nearly 93 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 more than 217,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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SOURCE Verizon