Verizon Employees in New York Volunteered 108,470 Hours of Work to Nonprofits in 2009

NEW YORK, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- A total of 1,352 Verizon employees in New York volunteered to work with nonprofit organizations last year.  These employees logged a total of 108,470 volunteer hours with 1,336 different community organizations in the state, and generated more than $891,000 in incentive grants from the Verizon Foundation for the organizations the employees served.  

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, supports the personal philanthropic contributions made by employees, including employee volunteerism.  Through the Verizon Foundation's Volunteer Incentive Program, employees can earn cash grants of $750 for the qualified nonprofit organizations and schools for which employees volunteer at least 50 hours of their time in a year.  

In addition to the volunteer time contributed by individual Verizon volunteers, hundreds more company employees in New York participated in the Verizon Foundation's employee-giving campaigns last year.  Through participation in these campaigns, Verizon employees donated more than $1 million in resources to help those in need.

Employee generosity offered hope and dignity to domestic violence survivors, provided students with back-to-school supplies, and spread holiday cheer and the gift of reading to thousands of disadvantaged children.

"Verizon's commitment to volunteerism is representative of our commitment to New York," said Jim Gerace, Verizon president for the New York region. "Our communities need our support now more than ever, and Verizon's employees have stepped up with their individual commitments to organizations in their communities."  

Across the nation in 2009, Verizon employees volunteered more than 700,000 hours, an increase of 11 per cent over the prior year.  In addition, members of the Verizon Pioneers, a network of current and retired Verizon employees and their families, logged more than 1 million hours of volunteer time for nonprofits in 2009.  

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