ALPHARETTA AND FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Verizon Wireless, the company with the nation’s most reliable wireless voice and data network, and the Atlanta Falcons are once again encouraging all Atlanta Falcons fans to help Georgia’s victims of domestic violence.
For the fourth consecutive year, fans are invited to donate no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories to benefit victims of domestic violence through the Verizon Wireless HopeLine® program. Verizon Wireless volunteers will be at the HopeLine Tent on Falcons Landing collecting used phones for the following Atlanta Falcons home football games: September 21, 2008 against the Kansas City Chiefs, October 12, against the Chicago Bears, November 9, against the New Orleans Saints and December 14, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Last year, Georgians donated more than 18,000 phones for HopeLine, which equals significant support for domestic violence victims in Georgia,” said Jeff Mango, President of the GA/AL region for Verizon Wireless. “We are asking all Atlanta Falcons fans to dig through their junk drawers and clean out those closets to help us put an end to domestic violence here in Georgia and across the country.”
Through the Verizon Wireless HopeLine program, used wireless phones, batteries and accessories from any service provider are recycled, or refurbished and sold. Verizon Wireless uses the proceeds to award grants and to donate wireless phones with prepaid airtime to non-profit advocacy agencies and law enforcement agencies to aid survivors of domestic violence. Wireless phones and technology can serve as a vital link to emergency or support services in a time of crisis or as a reliable, safe connection to employers, family and friends as survivors rebuild their lives.
“The partnership we enjoy with Verizon Wireless creates opportunities for our organization to extend the reach of our resources to communities throughout Georgia,” said Jim Smith, Atlanta Falcons Vice President of Marketing. “Through the HopeLine program, Falcons fans can help us make a significant impact to aid Georgia’s victims of domestic violence.”
In addition to the collection at Falcons Landing, Verizon Wireless and the Atlanta Falcons have teamed up with Davis Middle School in Hall County to establish a HopeLine collection site for no-longer used wireless phones during the month of October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The classrooms that collect the most phones at each school will win a special appearance by an Atlanta Falcons player.
For more than a decade, Verizon Wireless has been committed to raising awareness of domestic violence and working to prevent it. Since its national launch in 2001 the HopeLine phone recycling and re-use program has collected more than 5 million phones. Each of the 5 million phones collected were either recycled in an environmentally friendly way, with the proceeds benefiting domestic violence victims or were refurbished and sold for reuse. HopeLine has distributed more than 60,000 wireless phones with more than 180 million minutes of free wireless service to be used by victims of domestic violence and cash grants totaling more than $5 million to local shelters and non-profit organizations across the country that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness.
Wireless phones and equipment can be donated to the HopeLine program year-round at any Verizon Wireless Communications Store across the country. For more information or to find the store closest to you, visit www.verizonwireless.com.
