Delaware Nonprofits Received More Than $900,000 in 2009 From the Verizon Foundation to Support Education, Literacy and Domestic Violence Prevention Initiatives

WILMINGTON, Del., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 90 nonprofit groups in Delaware received more than $900,000 from the Verizon Foundation in 2009, enabling recipient organizations to improve literacy skills, enhance educational opportunities for children, and assist domestic violence survivors.

In addition, Verizon employees volunteered more than 2,300 hours to nonprofit groups throughout the state in 2009.

"Verizon and its employees are proud to partner with nonprofit organizations throughout Delaware to bring about positive change in the areas of education, domestic violence prevention and Internet safety," said William R. Allan, president of Verizon Delaware.

Among the grants awarded by Verizon in 2009 were:

• International Reading Association, Newark – $634,000 to fund the ReadWriteThink program.  ReadWriteThink.org provides educators and students with access to the highest-quality practices and resources in reading and English language arts instruction.  The site features standards-based lesson plans and interactive student materials.

• Delaware Center for Educational Technology, Dover – $50,000 that enabled the center to conduct professional development/training and awareness activities for the Verizon Foundation's free education Web site, Thinkfinity.org, to nearly 8,000 educators in Delaware who in turn used the educational materials with Delaware K-12 students.

• Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Wilmington – $50,000 to enable the coalition to fully participate in a national project aimed at addressing the mental health and trauma needs of domestic violence victims while also strengthening the capacity of the coalition's member programs to meet the critical needs of victims and their children.

• Christiana Care Health System, Wilmington – $25,000 to help the Christiana Care Visiting Nurses Association expand the hospital's Telehealth Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Management Program.  The grant funded training and technology costs associated with the program.

• Vision 2015, Wilmington – $15,000 to provide focused training to Vision network participants.  Through the Vision Network, superintendents, principals and leadership teams at 21 schools and six school districts served across all three counties in Delaware will receive research-based training, mentorship and coaching to sharpen their focus on data and to realign their time and resources to maximize student achievement, as recommended by Vision 2015.  

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $67.5 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $26.1 million in combined contributions to nonprofits.  Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: 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 more than 91 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 approximately 222,900 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com

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SOURCE Verizon