Lexington, Kentucky, Domestic Violence Survivors To Benefit From Verizon Wireless Grant

LEXINGTON, KY — Lexington women who have survived domestic violence and are now struggling with drug and alcohol addictions will benefit from a $7,000 donation made by Verizon Wireless to the Chrysalis House, Inc. in Lexington.

The grant will help fund several substance abuse programs and wellness-related services offered at Chrysalis House, including baseline health evaluations, health-related classes and activities specifically designed to encourage positive social interaction.

"Chrysalis House is a 31-year-old organization that provides holistic substance abuse treatment and ancillary services for women and their families," said Lisa Minton, executive director of Chrysalis House. "We are thrilled about this grant from Verizon Wireless because it enables us to provide much needed services to women in our area who have survived domestic violence and are now working to overcome substance abuse."

Chrysalis House is Kentucky's oldest and largest licensed substance-abuse treatment organization for women and their children. This non-profit agency offers numerous programs and services, including domestic violence assessments and treatment for women and children, health evaluations, support groups and counseling services.

The Verizon Wireless donation was made in conjunction with the company's HopeLine® program. This program provides funding to organizations that support domestic violence awareness and prevention, and turns no-longer-used wireless phones into support for survivors of domestic violence.

HopeLine's national phone recycling and reuse program collected nearly 1.13 million wireless phones in 2008 and has collected more than 6 million wireless phones since 2001. In the past two years through this program, Verizon Wireless-along with the Verizon Foundation-has donated more than $300,000 in cash grants, phones and airtime to shelters and other organizations in Kentucky working to support victims of domestic violence and their families.

"I encourage everyone to dig through their closets, ask friends and family members for their used cell phones and accessories and donate this old equipment to our HopeLine program," said Greg Haller, president—Kentucky/Indiana/Michigan Region, Verizon Wireless. "You can help make a difference in the lives of domestic violence survivors right here in Lexington."

HopeLine wireless phone donations are accepted at all Verizon Wireless Communications Stores across the nation. Verizon Wireless encourages everyone who plans to give a phone to HopeLine to make sure service on that device has been discontinued and to erase any personal data on the phone. Phones given to the HopeLine program are refurbished and resold for reuse, or disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.

For more information on Verizon Wireless' HopeLine program, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.  

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and data network, serving 87.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 87,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit 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.  

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