New York Nominees Sought for Verizon Wireless HopeLine Award, Honoring Champions Against Domestic Violence

ROCHESTER, NY — Verizon Wireless is seeking nominations for its fifth annual HopeLine® Award. The award will recognize individuals who have helped work to end domestic violence or assisted victims of this tragedy within their communities.

Nominations should describe the nominee's efforts to end domestic violence, either by directly assisting domestic violence victims, playing an active role in preventing domestic violence, building awareness of the issue in their community, or otherwise contributing their own personal time and talent to this cause. Also included in the nomination should be the resulting contributions to the community or to the victims' quality of life. Non-returnable, supporting documentation and photos will be accepted. Nominations should not exceed 250 words. No self-nominations will be accepted.

Respondents must also include an information sheet that lists the nominee's full name, address, telephone number, and occupation. Nominations should be sent to: HopeLine Award Nomination, c/o Verizon Wireless, 133 Calkins Road, Rochester, NY 14623, Attention: John O'Malley. All nominations must be postmarked by September 22, 2006. The winner will be notified by September 30, 2006.

An award ceremony will take place prior to the kickoff of the Buffalo Bills vs. Minnesota Vikings game on Sunday, October 1, at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. The ceremony will air at halftime on the Jumbotron scoreboard. The winner will receive a plaque recognizing their efforts and $2,500 will be donated in the winner's name to the domestic violence shelter or program of their choice.

October 1 will also be "HopeLine Collection Day" at the stadium. All Bills fans are encouraged to bring their no-longer-used wireless phones to the stadium and donate them to benefit victims of domestic violence.

Marking its 11th year, HopeLine today collects wireless phones and accessories from any wireless service provider, and then refurbishes the phones or recycles them in an environmentally friendly way. Proceeds from the HopeLine program benefit victims of domestic violence and non-profit advocacy agencies, providing essential communication tools of wireless phones and wireless services, and financial grants. Phone donations are accepted at all 2,200 Verizon Wireless Stores across the country. For additional information, please visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 54.8 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, 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 preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.  

####