Bell Atlantic Foundation Funds After-SchoolProgram at Preston County Youth Centers

Bell Atlantic Foundation Funds After-School
Program at Preston County Youth Centers

Children to Use Internet as Learning Resource

Aug. 30, 1999

KINGWOOD, W.Va. -- Youngsters in Preston County will have an
opportunity to use the Internet after school thanks to an $8,000 grant
from the Bell Atlantic Foundation.

The Preston County Caring Council will use the funds to purchase
computers and software for its two Preston's Promise Youth Centers. The
centers serve some 650 youth after school and are staffed by 160
volunteers.

"We're pleased that Bell Atlantic has chosen to focus much of its
charitable effort on improving the quality of after-school care. The
company has truly become a leader in corporate citizenship in West
Virginia," said Dallas Bailey, director of the Governor's Cabinet of
Children and Families.

"We're delighted we can bring new technology to the young people
of Preston County," said Bell Atlantic Area Manager Don Molter.
"Access to the Internet will open up a new world of learning
opportunities for these youngsters."

Bell Atlantic's contributions to these agencies follow a pledge the
company made in 1997 at the Governor's Summit for West Virginia's
Future. The company agreed at that time to contribute a total of
$100,000 over three years toward after-school programs.

Last year the Bell Atlantic Foundation contributed nearly $30,000 to
after-school programs in West Virginia, and it expects to more than equal
that amount this year.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation supports a variety of projects domestically
and internationally, with an emphasis on new technology applications in
education, health and
human services, the arts and humanities, and civic development in the
communities served
by Bell Atlantic. For more information, visit
www.bellatlanticfoundation.com on the Internet.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and information
industry. With more than 43 million telephone access lines and nearly 10
million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier
providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market leaders in
wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory information.
Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-
growth global communications markets, with operations and investments in 23
countries.