Seizing the moment.

Happy summer!

The weather is warming up nicely for most of us. If you need any inspiration to get outdoors, look no further than the gorgeous pics sent by our V Teamers in Alaska. Hiking, mountain biking, camping, river rafting, salmon fishing - they make the most of the “Land of the Midnight Sun.” Thanks to Kathleen McArdle, Manager of Marketing and Sales Operations, for organizing.

Which reminds us, we’d love to see what you and yours are doing with your summer weekends and vacation days. Feel free to send your pics and videos to the Good mailbox at good@verizon.com.

Global Citizen concert

Speaking of weekend plans, check out Global Citizen’s Global Goal: Unite for Our Future - The Concert this Saturday. This year, the concert will focus on how Covid-19 has devastated lower-income communities of people of color, those living in extreme poverty and other communities facing discrimination.

The great news is that you don’t have to leave home to get the full experience. It’s globally televised, digitally streamed and hosted by The Rock, Dwayne Johnson. Catch exclusive performances by Coldplay, J Balvin, Jennifer Hudson, Shakira, the original cast of Hamilton, and many more.

You can watch it on Yahoo and also on TV. For more viewing info and to find out how you can take action, go here.

VBG’s latest installment of Behind the Business.

We continue our efforts to work toward racial and social justice. The Verizon Business Group seized the moment by holding their own conversation as part of their Behind the Business series. It was led by Eric Cevis, leader of Verizon Partner Solutions, and John Frantz, General Counsel for VBG and leader of Verizon’s Pro Bono Program, where our legal professionals volunteer to help people in disadvantaged communities, victims of domestic violence and veterans. Eric and John spoke with two BOLD employee resource group members Peyton Perrine II, Solutions Architect, and Shenice Jones, Retail Small Business Manager, in a very candid conversation about the damage that systemic racism creates and how we can, in Tami Erwin’s words, “learn, listen and act.”

PRIDE rides and runs.

This year, we can’t celebrate Pride the way we typically would due to the pandemic, but V Teamer and Systems Engineering Specialist Jason Trometter reminds us that we can still hop on our bikes or pull on our sneakers and ride and run with pride.

Use the app Zwift to virtually join these events and train with fellow Pride participants every Tuesday and Saturday in June. Zwift is donating $25,000 to Athlete Ally.

Reminder: you can purchase the 2020 Verizon Pride shirt here.

Another discount for our members of the military.

We’ve got more to celebrate today, as Verizon gives more to those who give the most. Service members, veterans and Gold Star families can receive up to $250 in Verizon e-gift cards when they bring their own smartphone and add it to an eligible postpaid plan starting today through July 15.

Thanks to the team at Veterans Advantage, who we’re partnering with to quickly verify Veterans to get their discounts with us as well – online and in store, starting tomorrow, 6/26.

And as always, we are a proud sponsor of the Wounded Warrior Project. Customers can donate to this great organization by visiting

Saving graduation.

Finally, it's been a big but tough month for our high school seniors, who’ve gone through so much to graduate. One group of North Carolina students were especially hit hard last fall by Hurricane Dorian when, fortunately, Verizon came through to save their school year. This month, Verizon came through again by supplying the support needed to livestream the car-based, socially distant graduation so that friends and relatives could be part of the event.

Thanks to Joseph “Jos” Bowmaster, Manager Verizon Response, and the rest of our V team, for saving the day and giving these great kids and their families the memory of a lifetime.

Share with us and get a shout out.

Want a birthday shoutout on Up To Speed? Send us an email to good@verizon.com with your name and birth date.

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

Get the latest information on our Coronavirus Resource Page (Inside Verizon, The Street).

Reminder, tune in to Up To Speed Live tomorrow at 12 PM ET/9 AM PT.

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