Verizon Wireless’ UHopeLine Empowers Students to Break the Silence of Dating Violence

By: Cameka Crawford

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, a month dedicated to preventing the widespread issue of dating violence amongst young people. Unfortunately, dating and domestic violence is an issue too many teens have to encounter. According to Break the Cycle and the National Dating Abuse Helpline, one in three teens will experience abuse in a dating relationship and more than two-thirds of them will never report it to anyone.

Join Verizon Wireless in our efforts to address the growing issue of dating violence. Want to spread the message of dating violence prevention on your campus? UHopeLine, an extension of Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine® from Verizon, helps spread awareness of dating violence on college campuses and encourages students to give back to victims of domestic violence by donating no-longer-used wireless devices through student-hosted phones drives and permanent collection boxes. Donated devices are recycled or refurbished and turned into support for domestic violence victims in the form of phones with 3,000 minutes of free service or cash grants, which are then used to support domestic violence organizations across the country.

UHopeLine is making it easy for college students to get involved with the launch of a new online tool kit. This free kit includes prevention resources for students who wish to raise awareness of dating violence and give back to those who have been affected. The kit enables college administrators, student volunteer organizations and others interested in conducting outreach on college campuses to access the tools necessary to host phone drives and spread the message of prevention. Available resources include flyers, pledge cards and other printed materials to help launch dating and domestic violence awareness campaigns on campuses across the country.

The simplest act can make a difference! Interested in bringing UHopeLine to your campus? Visit www.verizonwireless.com/uhopeline to access resources, join the conversation on social media and find out more information on the program.

Share with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has teamed up with the Verizon Foundation to launch a digital campaign connecting community members with kids in the hospital this holiday season.

On November 3, Children’s launched its “Share” Campaign, asking the community to send a message of encouragement to the patients staying at the hospitals during this holiday season. Our goal is to receive 1,280 messages (1,280 being the projected number of inpatients expected in the last two weeks of the year.)

Children’s will broadcast the messages to patients via closed-circuit TVs in the hospitals during the last two weeks of the year. Verizon Foundation is matching every view of our “Share” video with a $1 donation, up to $25,000. Send a message, give a donation, spread the word. Make a difference.

Visit ShareWithChildrens.org for more information on the campaign, how to submit messages and how to donate.

Verizon Wireless Celebrates the Launch of It’s a Family Affair™ contest with Tavis Smiley

California Family to Win Ultimate Reunion Valued Up to $20,000

Los Angeles, CA, May 16, 2011 – With the season of family reunions and summer vacations fast approaching, one lucky family will soon celebrate a reunion they’ll never forget.  The grand prize winner of Verizon Wireless’ It’s a Family Affair™ contest will win an all-expense-paid family reunion for up to 100 guests.  The prize includes a reunion venue, catering, entertainment and a dedicated website to post family images, videos, comments and more.

“Four years ago Verizon Wireless introduced How Sweet the Sound, a national gospel choir competition, and the response from the African-American community was overwhelmingly positive,” said Christina Gonzalez, director of multicultural marketing for Verizon Wireless in the western U.S.  “With It’s a Family Affair, we’re giving back to the community, once again, in a culturally relevant way.”

Families can register for the contest at www.VerizonFamilyAffair.com now through May 30, 2011 at midnight.  Entrants must submit photos that demonstrate how their family keeps their close connection, and answer a few short, open-ended questions, such as: “What words of wisdom does your family live by?”

The voting period runs from June 7 to June 16.   Verizon Wireless will select fifty families as semi-finalists and post their stories on the contest website.  The public will then vote to determine which family wins the ultimate family reunion from Verizon Wireless. The company will announce the winning family no later than June 25. 

To celebrate the launch of the contest, Verizon Wireless hosted a family-friendly event recently at its Communications Store in Torrance.  Some attendees won prizes such as BlackBerry® smartphones and tickets to concerts and sporting events in Los Angeles.

Attendees also had an opportunity to meet talk show host, author and entrepreneur Tavis Smiley.  He signed his newly released book “Fail Up” and posed for pictures with those in attendance. Pictures from the It’s a Family Affair™ event are available to be viewed at www.verizoninsider.com/galleries.

To learn more and register for the It’s a Family Affair™ contest, visit www.VerizonFamilyAffair.com.

Marable Family Reunion, Montgomery, AL (2008)

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest, most advanced 4G network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 104 million total wireless connections, including more than 88 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 85,000 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.

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