Verizon Wireless HopeLine(R) Program Takes Center Stage Tonight at SONY BMG Latin Album Release Party Series; Local Domestic Violence Survivors Benefit

Verizon Wireless HopeLine(R) Program Takes Center Stage Tonight at SONY BMG Latin Album Release Party Series; Local Domestic Violence Survivors Benefit

Concert Guests Urged to Donate No-Longer-Used Cell Phones; Committee for Hispanic Children and Families to Receive First $5,000 HopeLine Grant this Week

ORANGEBURG, N.Y., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- When five Latino musical groups hit the stage in New York City this year to introduce their latest SONY BMG album releases, the benefits will extend far beyond the invited guests enjoying the music. Verizon Wireless, a major sponsor of SONY BMG's 2007 Latin Album Release Series and a recognized leader for its commitment to preventing domestic violence, will donate $5,000 to a New York area domestic violence organization at each of the five album release parties.

The first organization, Manhattan-based Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, will be presented with a $5,000 HopeLine grant tonight (February 28, 2007) when Mexican-based pop rock band La Quinta Estacion presents its third album, El Mundo Se Equivoca. Other artists in the series who will join with Verizon Wireless to present the HopeLine grants are Calle 13 in April, Alejandra Guzman in May, Jennifer Lopez in June and Alejandro Fernandez in October.

"The SONY BMG album release series presents a perfect opportunity to marry our Latino marketing efforts with our HopeLine community service program," said Rob Davis, associate director of marketing for the company's New York Metro region. "It is our hope that high profile events like these will help us remove the shroud of silence surrounding domestic violence, especially as it impacts the young people who follow these artists."

Guests invited to each of the five release parties will be encouraged to bring old, no-longer used wireless phones, batteries and accessories for donation to the company's HopeLine(R) wireless phone recycling program. HopeLine collects wireless phones and accessories from any wireless service provider, and then refurbishes the phones or recycles them in an environmentally sound manner.

Verizon Wireless was the first wireless carrier in the nation to collect and recycle old cell phones and has done so since January 1999 -- first in New York and then across the US. Wireless phone donations continue to be accepted at all Verizon Wireless Communications Store locations in New York City, throughout the New York Metro area and across the country.

The Verizon Wireless HopeLine program has collected more than 3.5 million wireless phones, and given more than $3 million in cash grants and nearly 40,000 phones to domestic violence prevention and awareness programs across the country. Local HopeLine grants include $120,000 already donated to the New York City Family Justice Center Initiative.

"Each of us can have an impact on someone's life," Davis said. "Donating an old, unused cell phone is a simple act but it can help provide support to victims who all too often suffer in silence."

In addition to a successful phone recycling program and funding for non- profit domestic violence organizations, HopeLine includes free wireless service and voice mailboxes for survivors, community and corporate awareness initiatives, and a bilingual "Invest in Yourself" program designed to help survivors re-enter the workforce.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving more than 59 million customers. The largest US wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 65,000 employees nationwide. The company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at 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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Source: Verizon Wireless

CONTACT: David Samberg, Verizon Wireless, +1-845-365-7212,
david.samberg@verizonwireless.com; Kimberly Ancin, +1-845-429-3839,
kimberly.ancin@vivianipr.com

Web site: http://www.verizonwireless.com/
http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia

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