Verizon Supports Hundreds of New York Nonprofit Groups to Promote Literacy, Technology and Domestic Violence Prevention

Verizon Foundation Awards 604 Grants, Totaling More Than $10 Million, in New York Last Year

NEW YORK - Verizon reaffirmed its commitment to the communities it serves throughout New York state by providing grants in 2007 for a broad range of literacy, technology and domestic violence prevention programs.

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications and one of the largest corporate foundations in the world, last year donated approximately $10.4 million to nonprofit groups in New York state. Nationwide, the foundation awarded approximately $67.4 million to worthy causes and charities last year.

“Verizon is committed to investing in our communities through partnerships with organizations that promote literacy, technology education and domestic violence prevention,” said Monica Azare, Verizon senior vice president for New York and Connecticut. “Verizon’s grants underscore our long-standing goal of supporting the communities we serve, as well as our commitment to providing excellent service to our customers.”

Recipients of Verizon grants in New York included:

* 100 Hispanic Women - supports college scholarships for needy and academically promising Hispanic women in the Capital region.

* Adelante of Suffolk County - supports youth and adult comprehensive literacy and English-as-a-second-language tutoring program, including GED preparation, computer skills and career development.

* Apollo Theater - supports an innovative educational partnership that brings online classroom access to Apollo’s rich African-American music and culture within the context of major social and political events in American history. The grant also includes development of a comprehensive resource guide for teachers.

* Boys and Girls Clubs of Syracuse - supports after-school educational services for some 140 underprivileged students.

* Center for Elimination of Violence in the Family - supports a relationship abuse prevention program for teens at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn, which includes virtual relationship tutorials through interactive online technology.

* Queensborough Community College Fund - supports a high-tech virtual nursing hospital to serve as an integral part of the college’s health care curriculum.

* Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic - provides digitally recorded textbooks to blind and visually impaired New York City public school students.

* Sakhi for South Asian Women - supports domestic violence prevention programs and services for minority women in New York City.

* Southern Tier Community Health Network - supports electronic monitoring and record-keeping of patient data for rural health care providers serving underprivileged residents of western New York.

* Urban Youth Alliance International - supports a literacy-based after-school tutoring program for underprivileged 6th and 7th graders in the South Bronx.

In addition, Verizon supports programs affiliated with Thinkfinity, the Verizon Foundation’s signature educational initiative. The program provides free online educational resources to teachers, students and community organizations through Thinkfinity.org, Verizon’s comprehensive online portal to 50,000 standards-based, K-12 lesson plans and other educational resources. Teachers at 73 percent of New York’s public school districts already have been trained to use Thinkfinity, and the company has sponsored more than 2,000 training sessions in New York state alone.

In addition to the Verizon Foundation grants, 1,708 nonprofits in New York received nearly $2 million through Verizon Volunteers, a program that encourages Verizon employees and retirees to volunteer in their communities and provides matching gifts to the nonprofit organizations that employees support.

For additional information on grants and donations made by Verizon in New York, visit www.verizon.com/ny.

The Verizon Foundation is committed to improving literacy and K-12 education; fostering awareness and prevention of domestic violence; and promoting the use of technology in health-care delivery. In 2007, the foundation awarded $67.4 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the United States and abroad. 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 www.verizon.com/foundation.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), 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 www.verizon.com.