A special treat for dad.

Happy Monday, V Team! We hope your week is off to a great start. On today’s episode of Up To Speed live, host Raquel Wilson shared a full news rundown.

This weekend will be a busy and celebratory one with both Juneteenth and Father’s day on Sunday! Here’s how Verizon is celebrating both.

A celebration of freedom

Juneteenth is the first nationally recognized commeration of the end of Slavery. It wasn’t until 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation that troops came to Galveston, Texas, to free all remaining slaves, thus creating Juneteenth, a celebration of freedom.

And lucky for all of us, BOLD, our Employee Resource Group that stands for Black Originators Leaders and Doers, has multiple events this week to celebrate the historical day.

• Tuesday: Verizon BOLD Executive Advisory Board member Kwame Trotman will host a “Table Talk Tuesday”. The discussion will center around what Juneteenth conversations are like in your home.
• Wednesday: Phillip Lewis of our Corporate Finance team will discuss the History of Juneteenth.
• Thursday: There will be a variety of events hosted by The BERG, which consists of nine ERGs representing the Black and African American community from different industries. They’ll be joining forces to celebrate this year’s theme, “There is Freedom in Wellness”.

And of course, what’s a celebration without giving back using our Citizen Verizon Volunteers Portal. On Saturday, June 18, and Sunday, June 19, Seize the Hour with the Juneteenth Virtual Social Justice Walk at the Juneteenth Parade. If you’re in the Irving,Texas, area – you can attend the walk in-person and participate in other volunteer opportunities like Juneteenth letter writing & the STEM Supply Drive.

For a full list of Juneteenth events, click here.

Celebrating Dads

Verizon is helping celebrate Father’s Day with some great deals and there’s something for everyone! Here are a few ideas:

• For the dad that is always dropping his phone and doesn’t have a case to protect it: Consider the Otterbox Defender Pro XT Case.
• For the dad that needs a pair of headphones: Consider the Beats Studio Buds True Wireless Noise Canceling Earbuds.
• For the dad that loves gaming: Consider upgrading his tech with the Microsoft Xbox Wireless Controller Elite Series 2.

Wishing all dads a very Happy Father’s Day! Be sure to check out lots more Father’s Day coverage this week on Up To Speed and on our Inside Verizon social handles.

Looking ahead

• Tuesday: We have a special employee profile tomorrow that you won’t want to miss.
• Wednesday: We will be sharing our latest episode of Entérate con Verizon, which will feature all things latin music, graduation season and more!
• Thursday: We’ll be sharing a new episode of George Talks Tech.
• Friday: Adi, a member of our communications team, will be rounding out the week with a live news rundown.

Click here for a transcript of the webcast.

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