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County Recycles Cell Phones Through Verizon Wireless HopeLine(R) Program; Local Domestic Violence Shelter Benefits

FAIRFAX, Va., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fairfax County Commission for Women figured that many county residents were likely to have old cell phones gathering dust, phones that could be put to good use to help local residents in need. For the last several months, the Commission has been putting their theory to the test, strategically placing collection bins at county offices, churches and businesses.

On Wednesday, April 22 -- Earth Day -- Commission members will box up and ship off their cache: more than 1,500 cell phones. The phones are being donated to the Verizon Wireless HopeLine(R) program, and, in recognition of that donation, the company is giving $7,500 to Artemis House, a domestic violence shelter in Fairfax County.

The HopeLine program collects no-longer-used wireless handsets and accessories to be refurbished, recycled and/or sold. Proceeds benefit victims of domestic violence through grants and the donation of wireless phones and service. Since HopeLine's national phone recycling and re-use

program was launched in 2001, Verizon Wireless has collected more than 5.6 million phones, awarded more than $6.3 million in cash grants to domestic violence agencies and organizations throughout the country and distributed more than 76,000 phones with more than 228 million minutes of free wireless service to be used by victims of domestic violence.

The recycling team that will help box up the more than 1,500 used cell phones at the county's government center includes a group of local Verizon Wireless employees. Jam Morante, a guru specialist in the Fair Oak Mall Verizon Experience Store, is very proud of her company's commitment to domestic violence prevention and the environment, and wishes more cell phone users would donate to the HopeLine program. "More than 100 million cell phones are discarded annually, but only about 10 percent are recycled. Earth Day is a perfect time to remind everyone of how easy it is to recycle a used cell phone by donating it to HopeLine."

Since cell phones and accessories are made from valuable resources, which require energy to extract and manufacture, recycling cell phones leads to significant environmental savings. According to the EPA, if the 100 million cell phones that are discarded annually were recycled, enough energy would be saved to power more than 18,500 U.S. homes for one year.

Faviola Donato, a George Mason University graduate student and student representative to the Fairfax County Commission for Women said, "We're thrilled with the way the community has responded to this cell phone recycling initiative. The funds that we are receiving from the HopeLine program will help bring hope to those who are facing very difficult circumstances. We are truly grateful for this positive partnership which benefits our community on so many levels."

For more information on Verizon Wireless' HopeLine program or for instructions on donating a wireless phone, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

About the Fairfax Commission for Women

The Fairfax County Commission for Women advises the Board of Supervisors on ways to promote the full equality of women and girls in Fairfax County. Established in 1971, the Commission has been an active voice for women in areas such as domestic violence, educational equality, and progress in the workplace. The Commission is part of a national network of some 300 state and local Commissions for Women.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and data network, serving more than 80 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit 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.