Flemington, New Jersey's Christine Horbacz Awarded Verizon Wireless HopeLine Hero Award
MORRISTOWN, NJ — Christine Horbacz, of Flemington, New Jersey, was named a Verizon Wireless HopeLine® Hero in recognition of her outstanding support of the company's HopeLine Phone Recycling Program, which turns no-longer-used cell phones into grants and services for domestic violence survivors.
Horbacz has been instrumental in managing the company's HopeLine program for the entire Northeast area, from Maine to Virginia, for the past two years. Her commitment to the success of the program represents not simply dedication to her job, but to doing the right thing for society.
At a recent ceremony, Horbacz was presented with a plaque and a check for $1,000, which will be donated in her name to the Women's Crisis Services, one of the county's leading providers of safe haven and caring services to survivors of domestic violence. In addition to the $1,000, Verizon Wireless has donated 25 wireless phones and free airtime to the agency to lend to survivors of domestic violence who are still at risk. The phones will allow the women to call for help in emergencies and to make phone calls necessary to find employment and housing free from the abusers.
The donation was made possible through the company's HopeLine phone recycling program. No-longer-used wireless phones, collected at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores throughout the New York Metro area, are refurbished, recycled or sold and the proceeds are donated to domestic violence advocacy groups or used to purchase wireless phones for victims. Phones that cannot be refurbished are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.
"The HopeLine Phone Recycling program is effective because of individuals, businesses and communities dedicated to the prevention of domestic violence," said Charles Hand, president of the company's New York Metro Region. "It takes time, energy and effort to organize and execute wireless phone drives. We created the HopeLine Hero Award to express our gratitude to dedicated people like Christine, who have gone above and beyond to support the program and the domestic violence survivors it benefits."
In addition to a successful phone recycling program, HopeLine includes free wireless phones, service and voice mailboxes for survivors, community and corporate awareness initiatives, and a bilingual "Invest in Yourself" program designed to help survivors develop readiness skills.
Since 1999, three million used wireless phones have been recycled or refurbished and sold through the Verizon Wireless national HopeLine program with more than 600,000 donated phones recycled. Verizon Wireless has distributed nearly $10 million in cash grants and wireless service to domestic violence prevention and awareness programs across the country.
Phone donations are accepted at 139 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores in the New York Metro area. For store locations and additional information, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline. Verizon Wireless also offers customers a quick and easy way to access professional and confidential help through the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Any victim or anyone looking for information on the issue can dial #HOPE (#4673) from any Verizon Wireless phone to reach the hotline. The call is toll and airtime free.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 57 million customers. The largest US wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ, with 60,000 employees nationwide. The company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
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