North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Bell Atlantic Mobile Team Up to Fight Campus Dating Violence

North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Bell Atlantic Mobile
Team Up to Fight Campus Dating Violence

150 Motorola Wireless Phones To Provide 9-1-1 Link To
Assistance

October 14, 1999

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Bell Atlantic Mobile, a corporate leader in the fight
against domestic violence, and Motorola are donating 150 wireless phones
during October's Domestic Violence Awareness Month to combat dating
violence on North Carolina university campuses. This donation is the most
recent effort of the company's "Wireless At Work" program,
which assists victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Bell Atlantic Mobile has teamed up with the North Carolina Coalition
Against Domestic Violence (NCCADV) to distribute these Motorola
wireless phones to targeted universities across the state.

The phones will be presented to NCCADV on October 26, at an event to
raise public awareness of domestic violence issues. The event will take
place from 4 pm to 6 p.m., at the Bell Atlantic Mobile UNCC
Communications Store at 8720 J.W. Clay Blvd., Charlotte.
Representatives from the Shelter for Battered Women and the University
of North Carolina Charlotte's Sexual Assault and Dating Violence
Women's Programs will be attending to show support. NFL star Wesley
Walls is also scheduled to make an appearance to help increase domestic
violence awareness.

"By providing victims of dating violence on college campuses with
wireless phones -- complete with a battery and charger, and equipped to
dial 9-1-1 at the touch of a button -- Bell Atlantic Mobile and Motorola are
providing a tool that provides some peace of mind and could also save
lives," said Patty Neal Dorian, executive director of the North
Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "Both companies
have recognized the crisis of domestic violence not only in homes, but on
campuses and is putting its power and technology behind awareness and
prevention."

NCCADV will donate the phones to women's assistance programs related
to sexual assault and dating violence.

Among the North Carolina universities targeted for the donations are:

• Appalachian State University
• Duke University
• High Point University
• North Carolina State University in Raleigh
• University of North Carolina Asheville
• University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
• University of North Carolina Charlotte
• University of North Carolina Greensboro
• Wake Forest University
• Western Carolina University

"Domestic violence is a very real problem not only in homes, but on
campuses throughout the United States," said Jerry Fountain,
Southeast Region Vice President for Bell Atlantic Mobile. "Through
our 'Wireless At Work' initiative, we have put essential communications
tools in the hands of thousands who need a vital, reliable link to
emergency services in times of crisis. We realize dating violence and
sexual assault is a reality on campuses. It is our hope these phones will
never have to be used. But if a victim feels threatened, they can rest
assured that help will be on the way."

Bell Atlantic Mobile will also mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month
by:

• Donating $25,000 to the Family Violence Prevention Fund for
  its National Workplace Resource Center on Domestic
  Violence, a groundbreaking collaboration between the fund,
  employers and unions across the country.

• Accepting used Bell Atlantic Mobile wireless phones, chargers
  and batteries during October at its Communications Stores in
  Charlotte. The phones will be refurbished and provided to local
  victims of domestic violence.

• Continuing to provide * HOPE, giving Bell Atlantic Mobile
  customers a direct link to the National Domestic Violence
  Hotline where they can receive advice on coping with abusive
  situations, when calling from within the company's coverage
  area from Maine to the Carolinas.

Since 1995, Bell Atlantic Mobile's "Wireless At Work"
program has provided 450 wireless phones to more than 60 domestic
violence assistance organizations in the Southeast, arming hundreds of
victims with emergency communication tools.

Editor's Note: Bell Atlantic Mobile owns and operates the largest wireless
network in the East and systems in the Southwest, covering 180,000
square miles, and the largest chain of retail outlets devoted exclusively to
wireless voice, data and paging. Based in Bedminster, NJ, Bell Atlantic
Mobile has 6.6 million customers and 8,000 employees from Maine to
Georgia and in parts of Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas. Through
its "Wireless at Work..." community service program, the
company uses its technology to help individuals and communities improve
security and emergency communications. Bell Atlantic Mobile's parent,
Bell Atlantic Corporation
(NYSE:BEL) is one of the world's largest wireless communications
companies, with domestic operations in 25 states and international
investments in Mexico, Europe and the Pacific Rim. For more
information on Bell Atlantic Mobile visit: www.bam.com; on global
operations visit: www.bellatlantic.com/worldwide.