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Georgia Nonprofit Groups Received More Than $600,000 in 2007 From the Verizon Foundation to Support Education, Domestic Violence and Internet Safety Initiatives

Posted on: Wednesday, 19 December 2007, 12:00 CST

ATLANTA, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Verizon's commitment to the Georgia communities it serves proved strong in 2007 through grants for a broad range of programs to improve educational opportunities, promote Internet safety and aid victims of domestic violence.

In 2007, the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, provided $609,782 in grants to 205 nonprofit groups in Georgia through competitive grants and through the Verizon Volunteers program, which rewards employees with matching gifts and grants to nonprofits that employees donate to and support. In 2007, Verizon employees volunteered 4,150 hours to nonprofit groups across the state.

"Verizon has a long-standing tradition of working to improve the communities where we operate by supporting organizations that strive to make a difference in the lives of community members," said Michelle Robinson, Verizon senior vice president -- Southern region. "Through grants and the generous contributions of time and talent from our employees, we are having a positive impact in communities throughout the state."

Among the grants awarded by Verizon in 2007 are: -- Georgia Center for Children, Atlanta -- $20,000 to provide therapy and treatment to children who are victims of sexual abuse. -- Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission, Atlanta -- $25,000 to fund the Georgia CyberSafety Initiative, an awareness and action campaign, including an Internet safety forum for parents. -- Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Atlanta -- $24,500 to fund the creation of an online version of the Georgia Report Card for Parents, a free online database of information on performance, demographics and financial information for all Georgia public schools. -- Gwinnett Country Public Schools Foundation Fund, Suwannee -- $10,000 for an innovative program for students, focusing on engineering, bioscience and emerging technologies. -- Medical College of Georgia Research Institute Inc., Augusta -- $50,000 to fund a project that will test the use of wireless hand-held devices to transmit electrocardiograms and meet the challenge of providing acute cardiac care to Americans, regardless of where they are when a cardiac incident occurs. -- Women Are Dreamers Too, Norcross -- $10,000 to develop an in-house math and science library for children and an online survival guide for victims of domestic violence.

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, is committed to improving literacy and K-12 education through its signature program Thinkfinity.org; fostering awareness and prevention of domestic violence; and promoting the use of technology in health-care delivery. In 2006, the foundation awarded more than $69 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the United States and abroad. The foundation also matched charitable donations from Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in $29 million in combined contributions. Under the foundation's Verizon Volunteer initiative, one of the nation's largest employee-volunteer programs, company employees and retirees have also contributed nearly 3 million hours of community service since Verizon's inception in 2000.

For more information on the foundation, visit http://www.verizon.com/foundation.

Verizon Communications Inc. , headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 63.7 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverse workforce of nearly 238,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com/.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at http://www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

Verizon

CONTACT: Media, Brian C. Malina of Verizon, +1-908-559-6434,Brian.c.malina@verizon.com

Web site: http://www.verizon.com/http://thinkfinity.org/http://www.verizon.com/foundation

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html

Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire

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