Full Transparency
Our editorial transparency tool uses blockchain technology to permanently log all changes made to official releases after publication. However, this post is not an official release and therefore not tracked. Visit our learn more for more information.
Domestic Violence Awareness month is upon us, and we’ve teamed up with the Kentucky Commission on Women (KCW) in a statewide HopeLine Drive to collect unused smartphones, tablets and accessories. At the end of the drive, we will turn the devices into a cash grant for WorkSafe, which provides domestic violence prevention training for Kentucky businesses.
To officially launch the KCW Statewide HopeLine Drive, which will run Oct. 1-31, Gov. Steve Beshear, First Lady Jane Beshear, Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson, KCW Chair Madeline Abramson, KCW Executive Director Eleanor Jordan and Pat Byron, mother of domestic violence victim Mary Byron, joined officials at press conferences in Frankfort, Lexington and Louisville, KY on Oct. 1 to pitch sacks filled with old cell phones and accessories they’ve been gathering into a HopeLine from Verizon collection box.
In front of table: Dr. Mary Lynne Capilouto, KCW Commissioner and wife of Eli Capilouto, University of Kentucky President. Back, left to right: Lauren Love-Wright, Verizon; KCW Chair Madeline Abramson; Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear; Pat Byron; Fayette County Family Court Judges Kathy Stein and John Schrader. Donating the first devices to the Kentucky Commission on Women Statewide HopeLine Drive at the kick-off event in Lexington.
“Homicide is the second leading cause of death for women at work, and more than one in five full-time employed adults are victims of domestic violence,” said Gov. Beshear, citing statistics from the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence. “Every Kentuckian with a cell phone or accessory sitting in a drawer can join Jane and me by dropping these devices into a KCW Statewide HopeLine Drive collection box. The donated devices will be refurbished and resold, and the funds used for WorkSafe training to help businesses across the Commonwealth prevent and respond to intimate partner violence that spills over into the workplace.”
Participants in the KCW HopeLine Drive include the offices of the Governor and Lt. Governor, all 24 KCW Commissioners, as well as 18 state agencies, University of Kentucky fraternities and sororities and The Mary Byron Project, a partner in the WorkSafe program.
Verizon Wireless is providing HopeLine from Verizon collection boxes and posters, along with free shipping for collected devices. Participants in the drive will place the HopeLine collection boxes in their office locations and bring them to public events throughout the state during October.
The goal for this drive is to collect 3,500 devices, one for every adult and child who spent the night in a domestic violence shelter in Kentucky last year. We’re encouraging Kentuckians to open their junk drawer and dig through closets to pull out the smartphones, chargers, cases and other accessories they no longer use - then drop them off in a HopeLine collection box at the nearest state agency office or nearest Verizon Wireless corporate store.
Help us make Kentucky workplaces safer for all employees, especially those trying to escape abuse at home!
For more Verizon Wireless news, subscribe via RSS feeds in the right rail.
