Verizon Wireless Donates Phones for School Crossing Guards in Spartanburg

Verizon Wireless Donates Phones for School Crossing Guards in Spartanburg

April 5, 2001

SPARTANBURG, SC

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Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless communications provider, has donated 18 wireless phones to The Spartanburg Public Safety Department. The department will distribute the 911-dialing-only phones to crossing guards at nine schools in the city of Spartanburg.

"We are always looking for ways to help insure the safety of the children in our city," said Lieutenant George Norris of The Spartanburg Public Safety Department. "We are grateful for this donation from Verizon Wireless. Thanks to the company, all school crossing guards in Spartanburg will now be equipped with phones, enabling them to request help in the event of an emergency."

"The public safety department and school crossing guards in Spartanburg work together to keep our children safe from," said Jerry Fountain, Verizon Wireless' regional president - Carolinas. "Verizon Wireless is proud to assist by giving them resources."

The nine Spartanburg schools that will receive wireless phones include: Carver Junior High, Chapman Elementary, Cleveland Elementary, Houston Elementary, Jessie Boyd Elementary, McCracken Junior High, Park Hills Elementary, Pinestreet Elementary, and Woodland Heights Elementary.

The donation is part of Verizon Wireless' community service program for domestic violence awareness. Since 1995, Verizon Wireless, formerly Bell Atlantic Mobile, has donated more than 650 wireless phones and airtime and 645 voice mail boxes in the Carolinas Region. These wireless phones and voice mail boxes are used by domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters and neighborhood watch programs.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. with 27.5 million wireless voice and data customers. The new coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp -- now Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) -- and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). The new company includes the assets of Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, GTE Wireless, PrimeCo Personal Communications and AirTouch Paging. The company has a footprint covering nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets. Verizon Wireless, headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, is 38,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com.

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