Verizon and the Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Announce Initiative to Prevent Youth Dating Violence

SIOUX CITY, Iowa, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Iowa teens and young adults will receive education on healthy relationships thanks to a partnership between Verizon and the Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence (CSADV). 

Funded through a $10,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, the eighteen month outreach and education program will target teens and young adults through educational presentations and social media. The project will teach youth about healthy dating relationships, including positive communication, anger management, and conflict resolution skills. 

Representatives from CSADV and Verizon joined Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller on Thursday (August 26) to announce the program.

"CSADV is proud to have Verizon as a partner in our efforts to equip young people with the skills they need to form healthy relationships," said Margaret Sanders, executive director of CSADV. "The knowledge gained from this program will benefit participants throughout their lives and will help break the cycle of violence in our communities." 

The program's approach is two fold; educate teens and the systems they interact with on dating violence, and enlist the assistance of those teens in spreading the message through their social media networks. Five hundred teens will be targeted in the five county, tri-state region. The counties include: Woodbury, Monona and Plymouth in Iowa; Dakota County in Nebraska, and Union County in South Dakota. 

"I applaud CSADV and Verizon for collaborating on a project that will help prevent youth dating violence in our communities," said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. "It is important that we provide teens and young adults with the tools they need to form and sustain healthy relationships." 

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. Over the last five years, Iowans have donated more then 70,000 phones to HopeLine and since the program began more then 7 million phones have been recycled or refurbished.

"Teen dating violence continues to be an issue for youth in our communities," said Seamus Hyland, president–Great Plains Region, Verizon Wireless. "This program will educate our youth about healthy relationships and the resources that are available for any problems they may be having."

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational website, Verizon Thinkfinity (www.thinkfinity.org), and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded $67.9 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 $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. For more information about HopeLine visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline

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 nearly 93 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 last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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SOURCE Verizon Wireless