Start The School Year Right - Donate Your Old Cell Phone to HopeLine

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Students with the hottest new cell phones on their back-to-school shopping lists have an easy way to get rid of their old ones.  Verizon Wireless encourages students and their parents to donate their no-longer-used cell phones and accessories to HopeLine®, the company's cell phone recycling and refurbishing program, to benefit victims of domestic violence.  

HopeLine collects no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories in any condition from any wireless service provider.  The phones are then refurbished or recycled in an environmentally sound way.  Refurbished phones – complete with 3,000 minutes of wireless service – are provided to local domestic violence organizations or local government and law enforcement agencies for use with their domestic violence clients.

As part of the refurbishing and recycling processes, HopeLine's recycling vendor removes all customer information from donated phones, including contacts, text messages, games and apps, and images, prior to distributing the cell phones for reuse.  

Donating a no-longer-used wireless phone to HopeLine is an easy way for students to help victims of domestic violence and support domestic violence awareness organizations.  Students, graduates and family members can donate their wireless phones and accessories at any Verizon Wireless Communications Store across the country.  For students who can't make it to a store, phones and accessories can also be sent by mail with the postage-paid label.  Students, faculty members and parents planning activities and events for their schools, colleges or universities should also consider organizing a HopeLine phone drive.  

Since the October 2001 launch of the HopeLine cell phone recycling program, Verizon Wireless has collected more than 7 million phones, distributed more than 90,000 phones with free wireless service to victims of domestic violence, and awarded cash grants of more than $7.9 million to organizations working to prevent domestic violence.  HopeLine has properly disposed of nearly 1.6 million no-longer-used wireless phones in an environmentally sound way and kept more than 200 tons of electronic waste and batteries out of landfills.  

For additional information on Verizon Wireless' HopeLine program and for Verizon Wireless Communications Store locations, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 92 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with  79,000 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