Smiles galore.

By: Raquel Wilson
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications

How local artists helped us celebrate Black History Month at retail stores across the country.

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Telling the Verizon story in Barcelona

Verizon Business is currently in the midst of showcasing our immersive solutions at this year’s Mobile World Congress Barcelona. From real-life 5G use cases, to how the latest technologies are solving organizational challenges, Verizon Business is spreading the word about our global 5G and network stories.

This is a “big moment of pride for me and all the V Teamers here in Barcelona,” said Massimo Peselli, Chief Revenue Officer for the Global Enterprise and Public Sector at Verizon Business.

Stop by the Verizon Business booth at Mobile World Congress, and you’ll be able to demo several innovative solutions, including Coach-to-Coach communications, Private 5G networks, plus a Q&A for warehouses and showcasing Enterprise Intelligence.

KPMG Private 5G Network

This past week, Verizon officially turned on the Private 5G Network at KPMG’s Ignition Center inside the KPMG Lakehouse in Orlando, Florida. With the help of this private network, KPMG is creating a Healthcare Lab experience where clients can interact and experiment with the latest in healthcare technologies while helping to define their own future healthcare vision powered by Verizon 5G.

Our private 5G networks provide healthcare providers and ecosystem partners with incredible bandwidth and data speeds to develop game-changing solutions that are needed in healthcare. Some examples include creating interconnected hospital operations that optimize provider scheduling, supporting diagnostic activities and simplifying patient interactions for better patient experiences.

Give back to Türkiye and Syria

Türkiye and Syria were rocked in the early morning on February 6 by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed by several aftershocks. Thousands of buildings were destroyed, trapping people in the rubble; thousands of victims have been confirmed dead in both countries, and those numbers are expected to rise as rescue efforts continue.

"Health facilities are impacted and overwhelmed, and medical personnel in northern Syria [are] working around the clock to respond to the huge numbers of wounded arriving to the facilities," said Sebastien Gay, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres head in Syria.

If you're looking for ways to help residents, families, and children impacted by the tragedy, we've rounded up some organizations you can donate to that have been recommended by PBS and Global Citizen.

You can double your donations through Verizon's Matching Incentive Program.

First, login to the Verizon matching program portal. Then you can link directly with affiliated organizations responding to this crisis below:

Matching Incentive Program links:

Already made a donation? Get it matched through "Request a Match."

How to avoid charity scams:

  • Verizon vets all approved donation matching partners. Donating through the portal can ensure your donations land in the right place.
  • If donating outside the portal: Determine whether the organization, nonprofit or group has a proven track record of delivering aid to those in need.
  • Identify local initiatives and efforts that are based in areas most affected by the natural disaster.
  • Avoid unfamiliar agencies and web sites. Scammers sometimes create web sites that look like donation pages after major tragedies.

Share the love

Recently, our local communications teammates have been traveling across the country spreading kindness as part of our #ACallforKindness campaign–making the world a better place, one kind act at a time.

Raquel showed us a few of the “surprise and delight” events from National Random Acts of Kindness Week, where V Teamers handed individuals everything from gift boxes to roses–and even truffles.

V Teamer Chris Fitzgerald said that “it’s all about spreading love and spreading kindness in the local communities that we work and serve.” Kacie Holder from the Communications team reiterated that, saying that #ACallforKindness is not only a reminder for people “to be kind to themselves, but to be kind to each other,” as well.

Verizon’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Last week, Verizon sponsored the 2023 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association men’s and women’s basketball tournament in Baltimore. But our work at the CIAA was just beginning.

Eric F. Reed, a director for Verizon’s State Government Affairs team, was part of a team amplifying our ongoing participation in the American Connectivity Program and other digital-inclusion opportunities in Charm City and beyond. On Friday, Eric started the day discussing Verizon’s digital-inclusion and small-business narratives on WREJ radio and later spoke at the Verizon-sponsored Tech Summit House at the Rita Rossi Colwell Center in Baltimore.

Local students got the chance to network and learn about technology career opportunities. Eric also participated in a panel on “Building Tech Ventures,” while his State Government Affairs colleague Paul Plymouth judged a pitch competition for local minority-owned small businesses.

Eric is also part of a larger Verizon team meeting with 12 Historical Black Colleges and Universities receiving a combined $35 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Connecting Minority Communities program, which facilitates broadband solutions for HBCU students and other university stakeholders.

In addition to leading by example during Black History Month, these initiatives reinforce Verizon’s year-round dedication to DEI events that not only elevate customer experience and incentivize customer loyalty, but also promote STEM education inclusion.

Black History Month Artist Events

To close out Black History Month, we created an artist customization experience in retail stores across the country this past weekend. Local artists in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, D.C, Houston, New Orleans and Oakland customized accessories for customers, many of whom traveled near and far to meet their favorite artists to get a one-of-a-kind phone case and other accessories.

Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month is about to begin, and our Verizon Employee Resource Group WAVE is celebrating all month long with the theme “Together We Rise.” WAVE has planned exciting events and V teamer profiles to celebrate women’s achievements, the importance of allyship, gender equality and women’s rights–so that we can pay it forward for young girls, teens, and women following in our footsteps.

Tune in to Up To Speed next Wednesday at 12pm ET for a special International Women’s Day event with our Verizon female leaders. In this interactive event, you’ll have an opportunity to ask the questions on your mind and learn a piece of advice or two from leaders on the topics you want to hear most about.

Visit VZ Web tomorrow for an article providing details on Women’s History Month events and programs here at Verizon.

Stock Together

Tune in to Up To Speed this Friday, March 3 for a chat with Chief Human Resources Officer, Sam Hammock, who will be sharing the details of our Stock Together program and new HR platform V Team Central.

If you have any questions, email them to live@verizon.com.

Click here for a transcript of the webcast.

Tell us what you think of Up To Speed.

About the author:

Raquel Wilson is a former adfellow who now enjoys keeping the V Team up to date on all things Verizon as a host of Up To Speed. You can always rely on her to have a good book recommendation and a latte she probably paid way too much for.

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