Colts To Host Hopeline From Verizon Cell Phone Collection

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, Oct. 25, the Colts will team up with HopeLine from Verizon to host a cell phone collection prior to the Colts vs. Saints game. From 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., volunteers from Verizon and Coburn Place will collect cash as well as used cell phones and accessories in any condition to benefit Coburn Place Safe Haven. Donations will be collected at the Colts Community Collection Stations, presented by Toyota, located outside each Lucas Oil Stadium Gate.

The drive will be the second annual HopeLine Cell Phone Drive in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month to benefit Coburn Place Safe Haven, an Indianapolis organization that has growing waiting lists for families in need of transitional housing. The Colts and HopeLine from Verizon pledged $10,000.

"It's important that we make this a community effort," said Dwayne Allen, tight end for the Indianapolis Colts. "The donated old phones that take up space in your junk drawer, garage or basement, are repurposed for cash grants to nonprofits such as Coburn Place. That simple act helps us serve scores of families with transitional and safe housing."

Wireless phones given to HopeLine are recycled and refurbished with grants generated for local non-profit domestic violence prevention organizations. New phones – complete with 3,000 minutes of wireless service and text-messaging service – are provided to local domestic violence agencies or local government and law enforcement agencies for use with their domestic violence clients.

"Verizon relies on the generosity of Hoosiers, Colts fans and other supporters during Domestic Violence Awareness Month to extend our HopeLine grants to Indiana nonprofits," said Lauren Love-Wright, Verizon region president for Indiana. "In the past year, we've been able to provide nearly $180,000 in support for groups that support survivors of domestic violence."

HopeLine from Verizon also has a goal this year to collect 1 million phones nationally.

"Coburn Place wouldn't exist to offer safe and secure housing with access to meaningful resources without donations like these," said Julia Kathary, president and executive director of Coburn Place. Last year, 31,779 days of safe housing were provided to 65 adults and 112 children at Coburn Place, while another 158 were on a waiting list for housing while receiving other support services.

Fans are also encouraged to show support for the Colts Gameday Collection Program and Domestic Violence Awareness by utilizing social media. Fans may tag @HopeLineVerizon on Twitter, @ColtsCommunity on Twitter and Instagram or 'Colts in the Community' on Facebook with the hashtag #VZHopeLineIN. Additional information is available at www.colts.com/Hopeline.

Other local community collections and donations to benefit Coburn Place this month are being spearheaded by:

• Charles Schwab & Co.
• Frost Brown Todd LLC
• 3M Personal Safety Division
• The Skyline Club
• RCI
• Carrier Corp.
• Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority at Butler University, whose members are leading a campus-wide collection

The Colts Gameday Collections program will continue to run throughout the 2015 season with a different charitable collection held prior to each home game. Upcoming collections include the Angle Tree Toy Drive, Sacking Hunger, and Books for Youth. A complete list of future collections is available at www.colts.com/collections.

About Coburn Place Safe Haven

The vision of Coburn Place Safe Haven is of a world where every adult and child may live free from intimate partner violence, housed stably and safely, with adequate financial resources. It aims to make that vision reality through its mission of empowering victims of intimate partner violence to live as survivors. Coburn Place is Indianapolis' largest and most comprehensive provider of transitional housing to victims of domestic violence in the state of Indiana and is a nationally-recognized model program in breaking the cycles of domestic violence, poverty and homelessness. The organization has provided life-changing support to more than 1,600 adults and children since 1996.

About HopeLine from Verizon

HopeLine® from Verizon puts our technology and the nation's most reliable and largest wireless network to work in the community by turning no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories into support for domestic violence victims and survivors. It also helps protect the environment by disposing of wireless phones in an environmentally sound way.

Contact: Stephanie Pemberton
Colts Marketing
O: 317-808-5144, C: 317-997-6900
[email protected]

Contact: Trevor Thomas 
Verizon Public Relations
O: 248-915-3680, C: 248-914-3680
[email protected]

SOURCE Verizon