Verizon continues its commitment to domestic violence prevention in Texas

DALLAS, Aug. 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- HopeLine^® from Verizon has teamed up with professional football player Jason Witten's SCORE Foundation with a $40,000 grant to support the expansion of its SCOREkeepers program into four domestic violence shelters in Texas and Tennessee, Witten's home state.

The SCORE Foundation established its SCOREkeepers program nearly a decade ago, seeking to place specially-trained male mentors on-staff at family shelters. This grant will provide funding to place one male counselor at Safe Place in Austin, Texas; Gatehouse in Grapevine, Texas; Helen Ross McNabb Center in Knoxville, Tenn.; and Morningstar Sanctuary in Nashville, Tenn.

Within the state of Texas, over 185,000 reports of family violence occurred in 2014, with both Dallas and Tarrant Counties each experiencing ten deaths due to domestic violence situations just last year.  According to a report published in 2016 from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, domestic violence resulted in 276 fatalities in the state between 2013 and 2015.

"We are proud of the impact the SCOREkeepers program has had the past 10 years on more than 6,400 children at six different shelters in Texas, and excited to partner with Verizon to expand the program to  even more shelters in Texas and Tennessee,"  said Witten. "With Verizon's grant, hundreds more children who have been in abusive homes will be able to experience the friendship and guidance of a male mentor. This can be so critical to breaking the cycle of violence."

A longstanding supporter of domestic violence awareness and prevention, Verizon launched the HopeLine program in 2001. HopeLine provides consumers the opportunity to donate no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories in any condition from any service provider to benefit victims and survivors of domestic violence. Devices and accessories given to HopeLine are turned into valuable financial support for domestic violence awareness and prevention initiatives across the country. In 2015, Verizon collected 700,000 phones through HopeLine and distributed over $7 million in cash grants to domestic violence organizations nationwide.

"HopeLine has been a passion of Verizon for more than 15 years and we're proud to help play a role to end domestic violence in our local communities," said Krista Bourne, President - South Central Market, Verizon. "Jason Witten may be a star on the football field, but we are most impressed by his passion for helping others through his SCORE Foundation. We're proud to provide assistance that will allow the SCOREkeepers program to positively influence the lives of individuals who have been impacted by the cycle of domestic violence."

For more details on HopeLine from Verizon, visit verizon.com/about/responsibility/hopeline. Information around Jason Witten's SCORE Foundation and SCOREkeepers program can be found at www.jasonwitten82.com.

About Verizon

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE,Nasdaq: VZ) employs a diverse workforce of 177,700 and generated nearly $132 billion in 2015 revenues. Verizon operates America's most reliable wireless network, with more than 112 million retail connections nationwide. Headquartered in New York, the company also provides communications and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide.

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SOURCE Verizon