Youngsters from AIDS Project Los Angeles and Christopher Nance Children's Foundation Will be Guests of Verizon Long Distance at *NSYNC Concert

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - There will be thousands of joyous young
fans at the Verizon Long Distance-sponsored *NSYNC POPODYSSEY concert at the
Rose Bowl on July 24. But none will be happier than 30 youngsters with special needs who
will be attending the sold-out show compliments of Verizon Long Distance. The children come
from AIDS Project Los Angeles and the Christopher Nance Children's Foundation.

''We believe in being a good neighbor and giving back to the communities that support
us,'' said Jill Wagner, vice president - Consumer Marketing for Verizon Long Distance. ''We
invited these two local groups to bring children to the *NSYNC concert because they do so much
to help seriously ill young people.''

Lorette Herman, AIDS Project Los Angeles director of Client Services, said, ''This will be
a very special night for these kids and it's a special thing that Verizon Long Distance is doing for
them. They will remember this for a long time.''

According to Christopher Nance, foundation founder, the concert will be the highlight of
the children's summer. ''The youngsters are tickled about the chance to see their favorite group,
*NSYNC. We're grateful to Verizon Long Distance for giving these young people a chance to
attend such a spectacular concert that would otherwise be out of their reach, '' he said.

Verizon Long Distance is hosting a pre-concert party for the children and their chaperones in
Pasadena. During the concert, a member of the *NSYNC band will read a letter from one
of the youngsters and the letter writer will be spotlighted.

The popular group's 35-city, 44-concert tour began May 23 in Jacksonville, Fla., and
concludes Aug. 27 in El Paso, Texas. The tour is in support of the group's new album,
"Celebrity," which will be available on July 24, the day of the Rose Bowl concert.

The Christopher Nance Children's Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports
children with life-threatening illnesses. The foundation provides parents with the ability to stay
at hospitals with their critically ill children. The foundation also provides direct funding to
researchers working on cures.

AIDS Project Los Angeles is a non-profit community-based organization that provides
direct services to more than 8,000 men, women and children with HIV and AIDS in Los Angeles
County. Services include a food bank, housing assistance, transportation, mental health
counseling, case management, home health care and adult and child buddy support.

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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 112 million access line equivalents and 27 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. A Fortune 10 company with approximately 260,000 employees and more than $65 billion in annual revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.