Nonprofits in Maryland and the Nation's Capital Received Nearly $3 Million in 2009 From the Verizon Foundation to Support Education, Literacy and Domestic Violence Prevention Initiatives

BALTIMORE, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 200 nonprofit groups in Maryland and the District of Columbia received nearly $1.8 million from the Verizon Foundation in 2009, enabling recipient organizations to improve literacy skills, enhance educational opportunities for children, and assist domestic violence survivors.

Through Verizon Volunteers, 850 Verizon employees also volunteered 62,000 hours to nonprofit groups throughout the area last year, raising close to $1.1 million and bringing the total funds awarded by the foundation to nearly $3 million.

"Verizon and its employees are proud to partner with thousands of nonprofit organizations throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia to bring about positive change in the areas of education, domestic violence prevention and Internet safety," said William R. Roberts, president of Verizon Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Among the grants that Verizon awarded in 2009 are:

D.C.

• FAIR Fund – $5,000 to support the Tell-A-Friend program, which educates middle school and high school students on ways to recognize domestic violence, how to prevent it, and where to seek help if they become victims of it.
• Food2Feed – $2,500 to support Howard University's day-long program to gather food and monetary donations to support needy families throughout the District of Columbia during the holiday season.
• Latin American Youth Center – $3,000 to support the Let's Get It Started youth job expo, which provided immigrants and minorities with opportunities to participate in on-site workshops and interviews with prospective employers.
• New Leaders Inc. – $5,000 to support the training of school principals who are then strategically placed within the District of Columbia Public School System.
• Phelps Foundation – $24,000 to create a telecommunications lab for the Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School.
• Unity Health Care – $7,500 to assist with the electronic medical records transition that will allow Unity's health care practitioners to more effectively serve more than 81,000 individuals and families in the District each year.

Maryland

• Carroll Hospital Center – $15,000 for the center's Reliable and Quality Access to Health Information Program, which will improve the delivery of health care services as well as support the availability of emergent health care information.
• LatinLink Institute – $9,400 for the institute's PADRES Program, which addresses low literacy levels among Latino adults.
• Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence – $15,000 for the council's Domestic Violence Abuser Intervention Program, which provides counseling services for individuals who display abusive behavior within the family.
• National Federation of the Blind – $9,900 for the federation's Braille Reading Pals Program, a Braille-readiness program for blind infants, toddlers, preschoolers and older adults.
• Prince George's Child Resource Center – $9,200 for the center's Family Literacy Program, which provides daily family-literacy instruction and English as a Second Language curriculum.
• Women Supporting Women – $10,000 for the organization's Breast Health Access for the Blind and Visually Impaired Program, which provides workshops and materials for the blind and visually impaired to promote breast cancer awareness and information.

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