Verizon Launches HopeLine Phone Drive with Allegheny County and City of Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon launched its HopeLine phone donation drive in southwest Pennsylvania with participating organizations including Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh. The county-wide drive supports Verizon's goal of collecting 1 million donated phones by the end of 2015 with proceeds supporting domestic violence awareness and prevention initiatives.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald launched the drive with leaders from participating organizations at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Fitzgerald formally kicked off the drive by donating the inaugural phone to a HopeLine collection box at the courthouse.

"Domestic violence is an issue which impacts people from all walks of life. It recognizes no race, gender, income, religion or other feature," announced County Executive Fitzgerald. "We believe that it's time for No More domestic violence in Allegheny County, and throughout the world, and are proud to be part of the HopeLine collection event. Donation boxes will be available in county offices throughout the month of October, allowing us to make a difference while also continuing to raise awareness of the issue and support initiatives to end domestic violence."

Fitzgerald was joined by William Carnahan of Verizon State Government Affairs; Kristy Trautmann, executive director of FISA Foundation; and Julie DeSeyn, vice president of community impact for United Way of Allegheny County. Mr. Carnahan presented a $30,000 grant to Southwest PA Says No More, an initiative showcasing domestic violence prevention activities in the region, and encouraged others to take action.

"Every 9 seconds in the U.S. a woman is assaulted or beaten and more than 20,000 calls are placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide," said Mr. Carnahan. "Thank you for your commitment to tackling this devastating epidemic in Allegheny County and across the country."

Several organizations are participating in the HopeLine phone drive, including United Way of Allegheny County, FISA Foundation, Pressley Ridge, Family Resources, Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, East End Cooperative Ministry, and STANDING FIRM.

HopeLine collects no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries, chargers and accessories in any condition – from any service provider – and turns them into support for domestic violence awareness and prevention organizations. Since it was established in 2001, the HopeLine program has collected more than 11.4 million phones, donated nearly 200,000 phones, and awarded more than $29 million in cash grants to domestic violence awareness and prevention organizations.

Residents can also take action against domestic violence by dropping off a phone at any Verizon store. Visit verizon.com/about/HopeLine for additional ways to get involved.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, employs a diverse workforce of 178,500 and generated more than $127 billion in 2014 revenues. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 109.5 million retail 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 worldwide. For more information, visit www.verizon.com/news/.

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Media contact:                                                       
Laura Merritt
(614) 561-2605
[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151007/275045 

SOURCE Verizon Wireless

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