Middlesex County Resident Named Verizon Wireless HopeLine(R) Scholar

Funded by a $100,000 Verizon Wireless grant, the Verizon Wireless HopeLine Scholarship Fund was created in conjunction with the Center on Violence Against Women & Children, to recognize outstanding Rutgers University graduate students enrolled in the Master of Social Work (MSW) specialization on violence against women and children, the first such program in the country. Income generated by the endowment will be used to award scholarships, annually, to at least three students.

Allred is a graduate of Rutgers where she received a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Political Science and Women's & Gender Studies. She is co-founder and president of the Rutgers University Women's Center and a volunteer for Rutgers' Domestic Violence Response Team.

Rutgers School of Social Work is one of the largest social work programs in the country. This groundbreaking scholarship on violence against women and children will help prepare future social work professionals to work as executives or advocates in domestic violence and sexual assault organizations nationwide.

"We are thrilled that Audrey is among our first MSW students to receive this scholarship," said Judy Postmus, director of the Center on Violence against Women & Children at Rutgers School of Social Work. "She will set the standard for other students to learn about and work with survivors of physical and sexual violence."

The Verizon Wireless donation was made possible through the company's HopeLine phone recycling program, which collects no-longer-used wireless phones at its Communications Stores throughoutNew Jersey and nationwide. The phones are refurbished, recycled or sold and the proceeds are used to provide wireless phones and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness. Phones that cannot be refurbished are disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.

Verizon Wireless was the first wireless carrier in the nation to collect and recycle old cell phones and has done so since January 1999, first inNew Jersey and then across the U.S. Nationally, the HopeLine program has collected more than 4.5 million wireless phones and given nearly $5 million in cash grants to domestic violence prevention organizations.

In addition to a successful phone recycling program and funding for non-profit domestic violence prevention organizations, HopeLine includes free wireless service and voice mailboxes for survivors, community and corporate awareness initiatives, and a bilingual "Invest in Yourself" program designed to help survivors re-enter the workforce.

HopeLine phone donations also are accepted at all Verizon Wireless Communications Stores inNew Jersey and across the nation. For store locations and additional information, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 67.2 million customers. Headquartered inBasking Ridge, N.J., with 69,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: 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 .

About Rutgers University, School of Social Work and the Center on Violence Against Women & Children

Rutgers, The State University ofNew Jersey, is the premier public university ofNew Jersey and one of the oldest and most highly regarded institutions of higher education in the nation. With nearly 50,000 students and over 9,000 faculty and staff on its three campuses inCamden,Newark, and New Brunswick, Rutgers is a vibrant academic community committed to the highest standards of teaching, research, and service. Established in 1954, the School of Social Work has a distinguished record of instruction, research, and public service. Classes were first offered during the Depression to meet the state's need for social workers. Today, the school offers undergraduate and graduate-professional degree programs, holds classes on Rutgers' three regional campuses, and is affiliated with more than 800 social service agencies throughout theNew Jersey/New York metropolitan area. The mission of the Center on Violence against Women & Children is to strive to eliminate physical, sexual, and other forms of violence against women and children and the power imbalances that permit them. This mission will be accomplished through the use of a collaborative approach that focuses on multidisciplinary research, education, and training that impacts communities and policy inNew Jersey, the U.S., and throughout the world. The Center on Violence against Women & Children is part of Rutgers University, School of Social Work, and the Institute for Families. For more information, please visit http://vawc.rutgers.edu

SOURCE Verizon Wireless

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