Wireless Voicemail Assists Recovering Addicts In Job Search In New York

Wireless Voicemail Assists Recovering Addicts In Job Search In New York

Verizon Wireless Donates Hopeline^SM Voicemail Service to Brooklyn ARTC

May 8, 2002

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BROOKLYN, NY

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To help recovering addicts move from the welfare rolls to payrolls, Verizon Wireless today donated three HopeLine^SM wireless voice mailboxes to Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation, (ARTC), a non-profit organization in New York City. Provided at no charge, HopeLine voice mailboxes offer ARTC patients a vital link to the outside world as they try to rebuild their lives.

"Through the vocational and educational services department of ARTC, our counselors help patients move from welfare to work and economic self-sufficiency," said Kelly Miller, vocational specialist. "There are a number of barriers patients need to overcome to reach these goals, not the least of which is the stigma associated with their current situation. The Hopeline voice mailboxes offer patients the ability to communicate with prospective employers, while maintaining their privacy."

The wireless voice mailbox service acts like an answering machine and allows patients to receive personal messages about job interviews, appointments and other important matters. HopeLine can serve as a bridge to self-improvement, housing, employment and independence.

"This service will give patients something most of us take for granted - a telephone number," said Charles Hand, president of Verizon Wireless' New York Metro Region. "It's one more tool they can use as they work toward a more productive, secure future."

Since its inception in 1995, the HopeLine community service program has allowed Verizon Wireless to give back to the community by bringing its wireless products and services to various groups in need throughout the company's service area. Domestic violence prevention and education is the company's chief community focus. Verizon Wireless has provided over 30 agencies with voice mailboxes, and donated or recycled nearly 50,000 phones in the New York metro area.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the nation's leading provider of wireless communications. The company has the largest nationwide wireless voice and data network and 30 million customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com.

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