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Alcatel-Lucent Foundation donates US$110,000 to support Off Road Kids Foundation in Germany, a relief organization for homeless children and run-aways


WEBWIRE

Stuttgart - The Alcatel-Lucent Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU)is supporting the street-worker initiative Off Road Kids in Germany this year with a donation of US$110,000. This is the largest charitable project carried out by the Foundation in Germany to date. In addition to the funds, the team at Alcatel-Lucent has committed to collecting used mobile phones for recycling to earn additional funds for the Off Road Kids Foundation.

Off Road Kids is dedicated to give new perspectives to street children in Germany. It is the only relief organization in this field which is operating country-wide. Existing entirely on donations, without any state subsidies, the organisation runs street-work stations in Berlin, Hamburg, Dortmund and Cologne. It also operates an advice hotline for parents and two children’s homes. Since 1994, the organisation has been able to get more than 1,800 young people off the streets, providing them with educational and career opportunities that had been unavailable to them.

The commitment to Off Road Kids is part of Alcatel-Lucent’s worldwide Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. The company and its employees are committed to being responsible and active citizens and as part of that commitment strive to improve the living conditions of people in the countries where Alcatel-Lucent is active. The focal point of the foundation’s activities is around supporting educational program for young people.

“I am delighted that we have been able to gain Alcatel-Lucent as a sponsor for Off Road Kids. Our street work activities can only be possible if we have generous support. The aid we provide helps those children and young people living on the edge of our society. We are working to get them off the streets and give them a future so they can become contributing members of German society. This means that our work does not only have a social aspect but makes sense economically,” says Markus Seidel, Chairman of the Board at the Off Road Kids Foundation.

Alongside the financial commitment of the company, the German Alcatel-Lucent team is also making a contribution by collecting old mobile phones that will then be recycled. Off Road Kids will receive a donation of 2.00 Euro from Vodafone for each phone collected. In June collection points were set up at all Alcatel-Lucent locations in Germany, and so far some 1,100 mobile phones have been collected, earning an additional 2,200 Euro in donations for the organization.

“With the aid we give to Off Road Kids and other social projects, we underline the core values of our company – social responsibility for the communities in which we and our customers live and work. We are very aware of the responsibility we have to be a responsible corporate citizen, and our goal is to make our society a bit more socially aware of the plight of some of its disadvantaged citizens and more liveable for all of us,” says Alf Henryk Wulf, Chairman of the Board at Alcatel-Lucent Deutschland AG. “By realising private initiatives and being involved in projects which promote the company, our staff also make a personal and direct contribution towards a better society. I think this is outstanding and I am proud of this commitment.”

Alongside the aid organisation Off Road Kids, Alcatel-Lucent in Germany also supports other CSR projects by means of voluntary activities carried out by the team, as well as private and corporate donations including the Star Care Truck in Stuttgart, the kindergarten ”Schatzkiste“, in direct proximity to the company campus in Stuttgart, the national ”Girls’ Day“ in numerous locations and the “International Day of Caring“ taking place at schools and kindergartens in Stuttgart and Nuremberg.

“The Alcatel-Lucent Foundation applauds the work Off the Road Kids is doing to help these children and young people who have too few people to turn to for help and we are pleased that we will be able to provide funding to help them continue this important work. Their work aligns perfectly with one of the focus areas of the Foundation to support programs aimed at helping disadvantage youth find educational and career opportunities,” said Beatrice Tassot, Executive Director, Alcatel-Lucent Foundation.

About Off Road Kids
Since 1994 Off Road Kids is the only aid organisation working for street children in throughout Germany. Without any state funds, the Off Road Kids Foundation runs its own Streetwork stations in Berlin, Hamburg, Dortmund and Cologne as well as a hotline for parents, two children’s homes and the Institut für Pädagogikmanagement (IfPM). In the past 16 years, the organisation has got over 1,800 young people off the streets and given them new perspectives. external linkwww.offroadkids.de.

About the Alcatel-Lucent Foundation
The Alcatel-Lucent Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Alcatel-Lucent and it leads the company’s charitable activities. With a focus on education and volunteerism, the Foundation’s mission is to support the commitment of Alcatel-Lucent to social responsibility by serving and enhancing the communities where its employees and customers live and work. To accomplish its mission, the Foundation manages grants, corporate contributions and employee volunteerism on a global level. It is defined as a “charitable”, non-governmental, non-profit, private organization that receives its income from the corporation — Alcatel-Lucent — whose name it bears. However, legally it is an independent entity and is governed by its own board of trustees that is separate from the corporate board of directors. For more information, visit: www.alcatel-lucent.com/CPT

About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted transformation partner of service providers, enterprises, strategic industries such as defense, energy, healthcare, transportation, and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP and optics technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 15.2 billion in 2009 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow us on Twitter: external linkhttp://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.



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