Verizon Wireless' commitment to preventing domestic violence began in 1995 when the company - then Bell Atlantic Mobile - introduced its HopeLine program. For more than a decade, HopeLine has grown significantly and is now a multifaceted program that includes a successful phone recycling and re-use effort, financial support for local and national domestic violence organizations, community and corporate awareness programs, and partnerships with law enforcement agencies, professional sports teams, educational institutions and corporations nationwide.

From Voice Mail Boxes to Phone Donation Programs

Verizon Wireless chose the name HopeLine because it embodied the positive difference the company intended to make in the areas of domestic violence awareness, prevention and victim recovery.

At its beginning in 1995, the HopeLine program donated voicemail boxes to victims of domestic violence living in shelters. The program also donated emergency wireless phones for victims' use.

In 2001, national recycling and re-use became key elements of the HopeLine program as Verizon Wireless encouraged its customers and the public nationwide to donate no-longer-used wireless phones.

In October 2002, Verizon Wireless launched #HOPE nationwide. By dialing #HOPE from any Verizon Wireless phone on our nationwide network, victims of domestic violence are able to access professional support quickly and confidentially. The toll- and airtime-free call is routed to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE). #HOPE is an important part of the HopeLine program, providing victims with an avenue to safety and independence.

To date, Verizon Wireless has collected nearly 6.5 million phones through the HopeLine program and donated more than $7 million in cash grants to organizations engaged in raising the awareness of domestic violence and in its prevention.

Verizon Wireless' Commitment to the Cause

After a decade of focusing its community service efforts on domestic violence, Verizon Wireless remains more committed than ever to the cause. While the company continues to implement the programs that have proven successful - like phone donation drives - it also challenges employees to seek creative new ways to assist victims and urges others in business and in all walks of life to join the fight against domestic violence.

In 2005, HopeLine marked its 10th anniversary. Throughout the year, the program continued to expand - creating a HopeLine Law Enforcement Partnership Award to honor law enforcement agencies or individuals who demonstrate extraordinary commitment to and focus on preventing domestic violence and raising awareness in their communities; sponsoring the first ever TXT Messaging Poll as Part of Liz Claiborne and Marie Claire magazine's It's Time to Talk Day; and hosting the first ever HopeLine Online Phone Auction to raise money for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

In 2006, Verizon Wireless partnered with Wal-Mart to sponsor HopeLine phone donation drives at more than 2,000 Wal-Mart stores throughout the United States during October's Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As a result of these phone collection drives, Verizon Wireless will donate $50,000 through its HopeLine program to Break the Cycle for “TheSafeSpace.org,” a one-of-a-kind online community designed to connect, communicate and inform. The site will give teens nationwide access to the information and resources needed to understand and develop healthy relationships.

In 2008, Verizon Wireless made the phone donation process even easier for consumers. In addition to collecting old phones and accessories at the company's Communications Stores, Verizon Wireless also added a postage-paid shipping label to the HopeLine Web site and began including a postage-paid phone donation envelope in all welcome packages customers receive when purchasing new phones. Download the postage-paid shipping label here: http://aboutus.vzw.com/communityservice/Shipping.html.  

Verizon Wireless believes that together we can continue to make a difference.