Bell Atlantic Supports Asian/Pacific American Groups

Bell Atlantic Supports Asian/Pacific American
Groups

Company's Foundation Announces Series of Grants and
Sponsorships

April 27, 1999

NEW YORK -- In recognition of Asian/Pacific American
Heritage Month in May, the Bell Atlantic Foundation is announcing a
number of grants to Asian-American organizations and is sponsoring
several special events, including the Committee of 100's annual
conference in New York.

"Bell Atlantic is firmly committed to giving back to the
communities we serve," said Suzanne DuBose, president of the Bell
Atlantic Foundation, the New York-based telecommunications company's
philanthropic arm. "We're pleased to increase our support and
continue our partnership with Asian-American non-profit organizations
engaged in a variety of worthwhile programs and services."

On April 30, Bell Atlantic Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg will
kickoff the company's observances with a keynote luncheon address to the
Committee of 100, a national organization of American business people of
Chinese descent. Mr. Seidenberg will discuss the economics of business
and investment in China.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation strives to provide opportunities for non-
profit organizations to apply new technology to the programs and services
they offer, advance their mission and give people in the communities
served by Bell Atlantic the tools and means to improve their lives and
achieve their goals. Accordingly, the foundation is announcing these
technology grants:

• A $75,000 grant to the Organization of Chinese Americans, a
  national organization based in Washington, D.C., for Intranet and
  Internet site development, conference and seminar support.

• A $50,000 grant to the Asian-American Legal Defense Fund
  toward the development of an interactive Web site that will
  provide a summary of Asian-American civil rights resources for
  community workers, students, civil rights leaders, educators and
  artists around the world. The new Web site is expected to be
  operational in the fall.

• A $10,000 grant to the Asian-American Arts Alliance to fund
  the design of a Web site aimed at broadening its audience for
  Asian-American arts and cultural activity. Through the creation of
  a centralized communications structure, the national organization
  also helps to foster an exchange of information and resources.

• A $10,000 grant to the National Korean American Service &
  Educational Consortium in Queens, New York, to support
  "Connecting Our Community," an interactive project
  aimed at educating low-income, Korean-American youth about
  information technology.

• A $10,00 Bell Atlantic Foundation grant which will help New
  York's Chinatown Manpower Project use interactive computing
  technology in its vocational training and literacy program for
  disadvantaged Asian-Americans.

• A $5,000 grant to the Asian American Writers Workshop, Inc.
  in New York to enable some 25 Asian-American high school
  students an opportunity to explore the creation and development of
  Asian-American literary arts via the Internet and stir their interest
  in creative writing.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation also is supporting student scholarship
programs and providing financial support for a number of other
community organizations and initiatives.

• A $50,000 grant to the Asian-Pacific American Institute for
  Congressional Studies will provide scholarships for deserving
  students pursuing their interests in science and technology.

• A $4,000 donation to the U.S. Pan Asian-American Education
  Foundation will provide a scholarship for an Asian-American
  student selected for recognition by the U.S. Pan Asian American
  Chamber of Commerce's Excellence 2000 Awards program in
  Washington, D.C., on May 7.

• A long-time supporter of the Staten Island (New York)
  Botanical Garden, the Bell Atlantic Foundation is providing funds
  for the creation of the New York Chinese Scholar's Garden. Slated
  to bloom in June, it will be the only authentic Chinese Garden in
  the United States and a showcase for Chinese arts and cultural
  programs.

• A $5,000 Bell Atlantic Foundation grant will be awarded to
  the Shuang Wen/Dual Language Academy in support of after-school
  and summer school programs. Programs will feature arts
  and crafts, cultural performances, mentoring and recreational
  activities designed to reinforce and integrate New York City
  children's knowledge of language and culture. Housed in Public
  School 134 on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the Shuang Wen
  Academy is the first east coast Chinese and English dual language
  and culture public school.

• New York City's Chinatown YMCA will receive a $5,000
  grant for its "A Parent's Love" program. An extended
  school day and weekend program, "A Parent's Love"
  seeks to provide parents with an opportunity to learn Internet and
  computer skills and explore the city with their children in an
  informal and fun setting. Enhancing parenting skills is also part of
  the program.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation also is sponsoring several community events
throughout the East Coast during Asian/PacificAmerican Heritage Month:

• In Richmond, Virginia, the Bell Atlantic Foundation will
  sponsor the second annual Asian-American Celebration to be
  staged by the Central Virginia chapter of the Organization of
  Chinese Americans on May 1.

• The achievements and contributions to society made by
  Asian/Pacific Americans also will be celebrated during the Annual
  Asian/ Pacific American Heritage Festival in Manhattan's Union
  Square Park. Organized by the Coalition of Asian Pacific
  Americans, Inc., with support from the Bell Atlantic Foundation,
  the festival is slated for May 2.

• The foundation has also helped underwrite the New York
  Chinese Bilingual Educators' Committee's 21st Annual Citywide
  Parents Conference at Public School 124 in Manhattan's
  Chinatown on May 2.

• Members of Bell Atlantic's Asian Focus Group, an employee
  resource organization, will represent the company at the Asian
  American Unity Fund's annual dinner gala in Boston on May 7.
  Organized by a coalition of Massachusetts-based Asian-American
  organizations, this year's event will highlight efforts made possible
  by the Unity Fund over the past year. The Bell Atlantic
  Foundation has been a long-time supporter of the organization.

• The Bell Atlantic Foundation will sponsor a variety of Hong
  Kong Dragon Boat Festival races and events throughout the
  northeast and mid-Atlantic region this year.

• The Chinese-American Planning Council in New York and the
  Korean-American Senior Citizens Counseling Center in Flushing,
  N.Y., also are receiving support from the foundation.

In addition to the Bell Atlantic Foundation's grants and sponsorships, Bell
Atlantic's Asian Focus Group will mark Asian/Pacific American Heritage
Month through a variety of programs and exhibits for Bell Atlantic
employees.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation supports a variety of projects domestically
and internationally, with an emphasis on new technology applications in
education, health and human services, the arts and humanities, and civic
development in the communities served by Bell Atlantic. For more
information, visit www.bellatlanticfoundation.com on the Internet.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With 43 million telephone access lines and nine
million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are
premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market
leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory
information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest
investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations
and investments in 23 countries.