Charlotte Homeless Shelters to Receive 49 Wireless Voice Mail Boxes from Bell Atlantic Mobile

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — During the last six months, more than 113 residents of the Charlotte Emergency Housing and Community Link homeless shelters have used Bell Atlantic Mobile's HopeLine® wireless voice mail boxes to secure employment, find housing and contact social service organizations. Responding to the high demand for more voice mail boxes, Bell Atlantic Mobile is donating an additional 49 voice mail boxes to the organizations, the second such donation this year in Charlotte.

The HopeLine voice mail boxes are donated through "Wireless at Work...", Bell Atlantic Mobile's community service program, and gives shelter residents without access to a personal phone line a single point of contact for communicating with family, child care and healthcare providers, and prospective employers and landlords.

Community Link has received 34 additional Bell Atlantic Mobile wireless voice mail boxes, adding to the 54 donated by the company in the Spring. "These voice mail boxes are a great tool for our clients to use in their search for employment and permanent housing," said Shelia Corey, social worker for Community Link. "More than 80 clients at our shelter have used the service during the last six months."

Charlotte Emergency Housing now has 33 wireless voice mail boxes, adding to the 18 previously donated.

"HopeLine answers a specific need at our shelter -- providing our clients a direct link wirelessly to the outside world," said Thelma Reynolds, resident services coordinator at Charlotte Emergency Housing. "Once we saw just how the voice mail boxes helped our clients find jobs and housing, it was clear that additional ones were needed."

"Providing the extra HopeLine wireless voice mail boxes is an integral part of the company's overall commitment to applying wireless technology solutions to help those most in need," said Jerry Fountain, vice president of Bell Atlantic Mobile's Southeast region.

Since Bell Atlantic Mobile's HopeLine program was established in 1995, the company has donated almost 600 wireless voice mail boxes to 28 social service organizations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, valued at more than $68,000. By having a voice mail box with a personalized greeting, clients have a private phone number they can give to parents, other family members, medical personnel and potential landlords and employers with whom they need to maintain contact and avoid the misperceptions associated with living at a shelter.

The shelters will administer and monitor the voice mail program, training clients how to use the service. No special equipment is required to use HopeLine, which can be accessed through the organization's regular telephone system or any landline or wireless phone.

Bell Atlantic Mobile owns and operates the largest wireless network in the East, covering 120,000 square miles, and the largest chain of retail outlets devoted exclusively to wireless voice, data, and paging. Based in Bedminster, NJ, Bell Atlantic Mobile has 6.4 million customers and 8,000 employees from Maine to Georgia and, through a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. Through its "Wireless at Work.." community service program, the company uses its technology to help individuals and communities improve security and emergency communications. Bell Atlantic Mobile's parent, Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE:BEL) is one of the world's largest wireless communications companies, with domestic operations in 25 states and international investments in Mexico, Europe and the Pacific Rim. For more information on Bell Atlantic Mobile visit: www.bam.com; on global operations visit: www.bellatlantic.com/worldwide.

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