Verizon Supports Hundreds of New York Nonprofit Groups to Promote Literacy, Technology and Domestic Violence Prevention

NEW YORK -- Verizon reaffirmed its commitment to the communities it serves throughout New York state by providing grants in 2006 for a broad range of literacy, technology and domestic violence prevention programs.

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, last year donated approximately $7.8 million to 624 nonprofit groups in the state.  In New York City alone, nearly 400 nonprofit groups received more than $5 million.

Nationwide, the foundation donated nearly $69 million to worthy causes and charities.  The foundation also matched charitable donations from Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in $29 million in combined contributions.

"Verizon is committed to investing in our communities through partnerships with organizations that promote literacy, technology education and domestic violence prevention," said Monica Azare, Verizon senior vice president for New York and Connecticut.  "Verizon's grants underscore our long-standing goal of supporting the communities we serve, as well as our commitment to providing excellent service to our customers."

Recipients of key grants in New York City included:

• Brooklyn Academy of Music -- $25,000 to support the academy's Brooklyn Reads program, which helps foster student interest in reading and writing.

• Hispanic Brotherhood of Rockville Center -- $20,000 to support the organization's after-school ESL tutorial program for 75 middle and high school students.
• Korean American Family Service Center -- $10,000 to support Korean immigrants in Flushing who are victims or at risk of domestic violence.
• Mount Hope Housing Company -- $22,500 to assist ongoing efforts to bring technology to the residents of the company's 31 buildings in the Bronx.
• New York Historical Society -- $60,000 to support the Hidden Sites of Slavery and Freedom cell phone tour component of the society's Slavery in New York exhibition.
• New York State Urban League -- $150,000 to support the New York State Urban League Association of Executives' W-Holistic Literacy Program, which targets at-risk youth and economically disadvantaged and marginalized adults in New York City, Westchester, Long Island, Binghamton, Buffalo and Rochester.
• Police Athletic League -- $10,000 to support the PAL after-school multimedia arts and literacy programs targeted to at-risk, underserved teenagers in New York City.
• Queensborough Community College -- $12,000 to support a virtual hospital for nursing students with the latest in educational technology.

In support of technology education, Verizon also awarded grants to the Queens Library Foundation, York College, Bedford Stuyvesant's Restoration Information Technology and Education Center, the Prospect Park Alliance Environmental Learning Lab, the College of Staten Island's Discoveries Strategies for Success Program and the Harriet Tubman School's reading and math computer technology program.

In addition, literacy grants were awarded to the East Harlem Tutorial Program and the Children's Museum of Manhattan.  Other grant recipients in New York City included Safe Horizon Inc., Per Scholas, Goodwill Industries' Project Caring Community, the Brownsville Recreation Center, Cristo Rey New York High School, the Municipal Arts Society and the International Rescue Committee.

In addition to the Verizon Foundation grants, 2,117 nonprofits in New York state received more than $5 million through Verizon Volunteers, a program that encourages Verizon employees to volunteer in their communities and provides matching gifts to the nonprofit organization that employees support.

The Verizon Foundation is committed to improving literacy and K-12 education; fostering awareness and prevention of domestic violence; and promoting the use of technology in health-care delivery.  In 2006, the foundation awarded more than $69 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the United States and abroad. The foundation also matched charitable donations from Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in $29 million in combined contributions. Under the foundation's Verizon Volunteer initiative, one of the nation's largest employee-volunteer programs, company employees and retirees have also contributed nearly 3 million hours of community service since Verizon's inception in 2000.

For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizon.com/foundation.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 59 million customers nationwide.  Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which operates one of the most expansive wholly owned global IP networks, and Verizon Telecom, which is deploying the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network to deliver the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services to customers.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverse workforce of approximately 242,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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