UNI's Center for Violence Prevention Aims to Decrease Gender Violence on Iowa's Three State University Campuses

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa, Jan. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Northern Iowa today launched a new center that will house a Regents-wide campus violence training, curriculum and programming initiative focused on campus violence. The Center for Violence Prevention (CVP) will work to develop best practices for responding to and preventing interpersonal violence at Iowa's three state universities.

One of the core missions of the center is to create a regional dissemination site to share research, services and violence prevention education. Verizon's grant will support the center's Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Leadership Institute for Violence. The program will focus on infusing violence prevention strategies into the curriculum, including the teacher education program at UNI.

"Verizon's support of UNI's new center and the Mentors in Violence Prevention program will allow us to better prepare our aspiring teachers to infuse these strategies and programs into the K through 12 classrooms," said Annette Lynch, director of UNI's CVP.

The MVP program is a gender violence, bullying and school violence approach that encourages young men and women from all socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds to take on leadership roles in their schools and communities.

"We are proud to support the University of Northern Iowa's efforts that will lead to sharing effective violence prevention strategies throughout the state and provide the research, training and tools for teachers and their students to implement a community-based response to violence prevention," said Seamus Hyland, president–Great Plains Region, Verizon Wireless. "We are committed to improving the well-being of the citizens in all the communities we serve."

Verizon Wireless has supported domestic violence awareness and prevention efforts over the last decade through the company's award-winning HopeLine® phone recycling program. Through HopeLine, Verizon Wireless collects no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries and accessories, in any condition, from any wireless service provider. Phones that can be refurbished are sold for reuse and those without value are disposed of in an environmentally sound way. All proceeds benefit non-profit shelters and organizations that focus on domestic violence awareness and prevention. Since 2005, Iowans have donated more than 75,000 phones to HopeLine and since the program began more than 7 million phones have been recycled or refurbished.

The CVP is supported by a $700,000 grant from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to focus on decreasing gender violence and will support the center's programs and services. Additional funding includes $115,000 from the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention located in Sioux City, Iowa and $15,000 from the Iowa Department of Public Health.

About Verizon

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 94.1 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 194,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of $106.6 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless