Verizon Wireless Opens New Store in Chicago Illinois' Little Village Neighborhood

CHICAGO, IL — In response to the growing demand for the company's voice and data products and services, Verizon Wireless is opening a new Communications Store at 3435 W. 26th St. in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.

The official store opening will be held on Thursday, August 19, from 2—5 p.m. Radio station WOJO Que Buena (105.1 FM) will join in the festivities, with live broadcasts from 2—4 p.m.

"The Verizon Wireless customer base is rapidly expanding in Chicago's Hispanic community," said Tracy Nolan, president—Illinois/Wisconsin Region, Verizon Wireless. "The opening of our first store in Little Village-one of the largest Hispanic neighborhoods in the city-vastly improves our ability to meet the needs of local residents. Our goal with this bilingual store is to make all customers feel comfortable doing business with us and to help customers get the best value from their Verizon Wireless products and services.

"With the new store," Nolan said, "we offer customers in the community the very latest wireless communications technology in a modern, well-equipped, customer-friendly environment. Our Little Village sales team will deliver a high level of customer support and a broad range of equipment and service plans to suit every need, all backed by our Worry Free Guarantee^SM."

The new store will feature a variety of wireless services for customers including Picture and TXT Messaging and Get It Now® applications including downloadable ringtones and games, and high-speed wireless Internet connections with Verizon Wireless NationalAccess.

Wire-Cutting Ceremony Features Donation, Call To Donate Old Wireless Phones
To mark the grand opening, a wire-cutting ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. on August 19 at the new Verizon Wireless Communications Store. The ceremony is open to the public and will include a check presentation in the amount of $1,500 to the Little Village Community Development Corporation, a community-based organization dedicated to creating more jobs, child care, home ownership, green space and housing for seniors, and to combating violence in the Little Village neighborhood.

Don Miller, district manager for Verizon Wireless, will present the check to Jesus Garcia, executive director of the Little Village Community Development Corporation. The dollars are earmarked for domestic violence awareness and prevention initiatives.

Several prominent members of the Little Village community also will be present at the wire-cutting ceremony, including Alderman Ricardo Munoz (22nd Ward) and Martha De La Vega, president of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce.

Verizon Wireless is asking residents of Little Village to bring their old wireless phones to the store to donate to the company's HopeLine^SM program. For every phone collected at the store during the month of August, Verizon Wireless will donate an additional $5 to the Little Village Community Development Corporation.

Through its award-winning HopeLine program, Verizon Wireless collects no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories from any wireless service provider. Most of the phones and equipment are refurbished and sold; then the company uses the proceeds to purchase newer wireless phones for domestic violence survivors and to support domestic violence shelters and organizations. The remaining phones are recycled in an environmentally friendly way.

"Domestic violence devastates neighbors, friends and co-workers in all communities, including Little Village," said Miller. "That's why Verizon Wireless focuses on putting wireless products to work to aid both the prevention of domestic violence and the life-rebuilding process. We encourage Little Village residents to help by donating phones they no longer use to HopeLine. By doing so, they truly will be providing a lifeline to someone in their community."

Matt Naka is the manager of the new store, which will be open from 9 a.m.—8 p.m., Monday through Friday; 9 a.m.—6 p.m., Saturday; and noon—5 p.m., Sunday.

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 40.4 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 www.verizonwireless.com. To receive broadcast-quality video footage of Verizon Wireless operations, log onto www.thenewsmarket.com/verizonwireless.

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