First Program in US to Prepare Graduate Students to Assist Victims of
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
MORRISTOWN, N.J., Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing its commitment to
domestic violence prevention and awareness, Verizon Wireless joined with
Rutgers University today to announce the creation of a new $100,000
scholarship fund at the Rutgers University School of Social Work and its
Center on Violence Against Women and Children.
Named the Verizon Wireless HopeLine(R) Scholarship, income generated by
the endowment will be used to award scholarships, annually, to at least
three Rutgers graduate social work students enrolled in the School of
Social Work's Master of Social Work (MSW) specialization on violence
against women and children, the first such program in the country. The
Rutgers University 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 prepare future social work professionals to
work as executives or advocates in domestic violence and sexual assault
organizations nationwide.
"We are thrilled to be selected for this unique and pioneering
endowment for MSW students," said Judy Postmus, director of the Center on
Violence Against Women & Children at Rutgers, School of Social Work. "With
this scholarship, we are encouraging more students to learn about and work
with survivors of physical and sexual violence. Plus, these graduates will
then become the experts, promoting an evidenced-based social work practice
and becoming mentors and instructors to future recipients of the Verizon
Wireless HopeLine Scholarships."
The Verizon Wireless donation was made possible through the company's
HopeLine phone recycling program, which collects old, no-longer-used cell
phones at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores throughout New Jersey. The
phones are refurbished, recycled or sold and the proceeds are donated to
domestic violence advocacy groups in the form of cash grants and prepaid
wireless phones for victims. Phones that cannot be refurbished are disposed
of in an environmentally sound manner.
"The HopeLine program was created more than 10 years ago as a means for
Verizon Wireless to put its products and services to work to help survivors
of domestic violence," said Pat Devlin, president of Verizon Wireless' New
York Metro Region. "Its ultimate goal is to help end violence against
women. This endowment extends HopeLine funding to a new generation of
professionals dedicated to that common goal."
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 in New Jersey and then across the U.S. Nationally, the HopeLine
program has collected nearly 4.2 million wireless phones, and given more
than $4 million in cash grants and nearly 40,000 phones with airtime 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 in New Jersey and across the nation. For store
locations and additional information, visit
http://www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and
data network, serving 65.7 million customers. The largest U.S. wireless
company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon
Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ, with 69,000 employees
nationwide. The company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:
VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at
http://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
http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
About Rutgers University
Established in 1766, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is
America's eighth oldest institution of higher learning and one of the
nation's premier public research universities. Serving more than 50,000
students on campuses in Camden, Newark and New Brunswick, Rutgers offers
more than 280 bachelor's, master's, doctoral and professional degree
programs. The university is home to 27 degree-granting schools and
colleges, and more than 150 specialized centers and institutes. For more
information about the Center on Violence Against Women & Children visit
http://socialwork.rutgers.edu/iff/
|
