Verizon Employees in Florida Donate $11,400 Worth of Items to Assist Area Schools

Items Collected by Employees at Companywide ’Tools for School’ Campaign.

TAMPA, Fla. - Verizon employees from 21 work sites across Florida collected more than $11,400 worth of items to donate to local schools and nonprofit organizations from Tampa to Ft. Lauderdale during a recent Tools for School drive.

These Florida workers were among Verizon employees at 372 company locations throughout the country that took part in the two-week campaign to collect new pens and pencils, rulers, crayons, backpacks and other items children need to start the school year. In all, employees donated an estimated $300,000 worth of supplies to more than 300 schools and nonprofits across the U.S.

According to a study by Quality Education Data and the Heller Reports, K-12 teachers spend an average of $475 of their own money each year to buy classroom materials and supplies.

“Supporting education and literacy has long been a primary social cause for Verizon,” said Michelle A. Robinson, Verizon’s southeast region president. “Whether it’s by providing interactive educational tools on Verizon’s Thinkfinity.org Web site, or pencils and crayons for the classroom, Verizon will continue to support efforts to give parents, students and teachers the tools needed to help all children succeed.”

Thinkfinity.org is the Verizon Foundation’s comprehensive program and online portal to 55,000 standards-based, grade-specific, K-12 lesson plans and other educational resources provided in partnership with many of the nation’s leading educational and literacy organizations.

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