Alabama First Lady Dianne Bentley and Verizon Wireless Team Up to Raise Awareness of Domestic Violence

MONTGOMERY, Ala., July 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Alabama First Lady Dianne Bentley and Verizon Wireless today announced a joint initiative to raise awareness of domestic violence in the state and increase collections of no-longer used phones for HopeLine® from Verizon. First Lady Bentley will be featured in a public service announcement that will begin airing this week on television stations in Birmingham and Montgomery.

HopeLine, Verizon Wireless' national cell phone recycling and re-use program, collects no-longer-used wireless devices and accessories – all models, from all wireless carriers – to be refurbished, recycled and/or sold. Proceeds benefit victims of domestic violence via cash grants to domestic violence agencies and organizations as well as refurbished phones – complete with 3,000 minutes of wireless service – which are provided to local domestic violence organizations or local government and law enforcement agencies for use with their domestic violence clients.

"This is an epidemic that touches every community, and so I have embraced domestic violence awareness and prevention as one of the causes that I will support as First Lady," Bentley said. "I was excited to discover that Verizon Wireless has a program in place that gives Alabamians the opportunity to contribute to this important cause by simply donating your old phone. The more phones we collect in Alabama, the more we can do to prevent abuse within Alabama families."

In addition to helping Verizon Wireless spread the word about HopeLine, First Lady Bentley has led the collection of more than 4,000 phones for HopeLine this year. She has also worked with the Alabama Department of Corrections to have phones that have been confiscated from inmates donated to HopeLine rather than destroyed. Verizon Wireless recognized First Lady Bentley with a 2012 HopeLine Hero Award earlier this year for her efforts on behalf of this cause.

"It is an honor to work with First Lady Bentley and join with the many domestic violence organizations across Alabama who work tirelessly to provide assistance to victims and help prevent more Alabamians from being victimized," said Jonathan LeCompte, president – Georgia/Alabama region, Verizon Wireless. "We look forward to seeing an increase in phone donations and, in turn, being able to provide more grant dollars to deserving organizations."

Residents can donate a phone at any Verizon Wireless store or by mail. To print a prepaid HopeLine mailing label, simply go to www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline. 

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 93.0 million retail customers, including 88.0 million retail postpaid customers.  Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 80,000 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