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Community \ Verizon Washington, D.C.
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Community Outreach
 
At Verizon Washington DC, every outreach program and initiative we undertake centers around our core belief: the power of communications technologies to change lives. Our efforts are rooted in a century-old tradition of giving back to the communities we serve, guided by the firm belief that technology can have a profound and positive effect on social issues.

Featured Event
 

Verizon Salutes Kids on the Hill30th Annual Capitol Hill Classic

The Capitol Hill Classic is an annual 10K race that benefits the Capitol Hill Cluster School, a neighborhood public school with three campuses serving children ages 3 through grade 8.  The Capitol Hill Classic showcases the public school and the neighborhood.  This is a great neighborhood event that attracts a lot of residents from the Capitol Hill area and other parts of the city.

Verizon volunteers supported the event held on May 17.

 
 
2008 at a Glance
 

Nonprofits in Maryland and the District of Columbia Received Nearly $2.9 Million in 2008 From the Verizon Foundation

More than 200 nonprofit groups in Maryland and Washington, D.C., received nearly $1.8 million from the Verizon Foundation in 2008.  The grants have enabled the recipient organizations to improve basic literacy skills, create new and diverse approaches to technology-based learning, including Internet safety programs, and help domestic violence survivors rebuild their lives. 

In addition, through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee-volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retires volunteered more than 56,000 hours and raised close to $1.1 million for nonprofit groups in 2008.

Read the press release.

 
 

Verizon Foundation

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  In 2008, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $68 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $26 million in combined contributions to nonprofits.  Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 3 million hours of community service since 2000.  For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

If you are interested in partnering with the Verizon Foundation, please visit www.verizon.com/foundation or contact Mario Acosta-Velez at mario.acosta-velez@verizon.com.

 
 
Community Outreach
 

Verizon Washington, DC manages a strategic outreach program designed to maximize its impact by reaching all residents and businesses within the District of Columbia. The program focuses on:

  • Technology education for residents, with a particular focus on youth
    literacy and domestic violence prevention;
  • Consumer education;
  • Employee volunteer programs that support civic and community service.

Working with the Telephone Pioneers, D.C. government, non-profit organizations and corporate partners our External Affairs team has designed and implemented community outreach programs that serve a broad spectrum of community and educational-based organizations across the District of Columbia.

Every year Verizon Washington, DC conducts more than a hundred visits to non-profit organizations, civic association meetings, ANC meetings, and community events throughout the city's eight wards to educate DC residents on the programs and services available to them.  This includes such programs as Verizon DC's Economy II Service, Message B Service, Child Internet Safety and Check Into Literacy. 

If you are interested in having a Verizon representative attend your community meeting please contact Mario Acosta-Velez at mario.acosta-velez@verizon.com.

 
 
Featured Programs: Best-in-Class Models
 
We formed a partnership with the State Education Office, the State Education Agency for Adult Education at the University of the District of Columbia and the Mayor¿s Adult Literacy Council. Verizon provided funding for a web-based instructional technology program called PLATO to assist DC residents in gaining work readiness and literacy skills. The PLATO software is available on 60 computers located at various DC Parks and Recreation centers and other locations throughout the District.

For the past 13 years Verizon has partnered with Department of Employment Service (DOES) in an effort to employ DC youth.  We are proud of having employed a record 600 DC youth and invested over $500,000.

The Turning the Page Literacy Through Photography Program (LTP), a school-based community program developed by Photographer Wendy Ewald, puts cameras in the hands of children and encourages them to use their own photographs as inspiration for creative writing. Since 2002, the LTP program has demonstrated great success in engaging teachers and students in community based-learning with more than 40 teachers and 1,200 students participating. In the 2005-2006 school year, Turning the Page made LTP available to twenty-four teachers across seven partner schools, reaching over 400 students.  For more information please visit www.turningthepage.org

The Columbia Light House for the Blind Rap Program helps blind and visually impaired teens achieve high academic standards and reach their full potential. The organization's goal is to provide teens with support and experiences that will help them become more confident, socially adept, and optimistic about the future. Verizon's grant helps support a poetry and creative writing project for "Time to Rap." For more information please visit www.clb.org

The United Reads program addresses the issue of literacy in the D.C. Public Schools by providing students new books throughout the school year.   In addition, United Reads incorporates the sport of soccer which helps to instill a healthy lifestyle and life skills element to the reading aspect of the program. Another element is the United Reads/Verizon Foundation Reading Corners partnership with Reach Out and Read, an organization that creates literacy-rich environments in health centers by donating children's books for pediatric reading corners. For more information please visit www.unitedfordc.org
 

Our Commitment: Corporate Responsibility
Verizon Foundation
Thinkfinity: Literacy, Education and Technology
Upcoming Events
Verizon Thinkfinity Named Best Free Educational Web Site by Library Media Connection Magazine
Nov 17, 2009
Verizon Engages Law Enforcement, Advocacy Groups in Discussions of Online Safety, Digital Citizenship
Nov 04, 2009
Verizon Legal Volunteers Launch New Program to Provide Free Legal Services
Nov 04, 2009
Domestic Violence Prevention Advocates Say Men Must Take a More Active Role to Break the Cycle of Violence
Sep 24, 2009
135 Hispanic Students Across the Country to Receive Nearly $500,000 in Verizon Scholarships
Sep 21, 2009
Verizon Thinkfinity.org Adds 154 New Free Online Educational Resources to Assist Teachers as They Return to School
Aug 31, 2009
Verizon Employees Throughout the Country Collect More Than $500,000 Worth of Back-to-School Supplies to Assist Hundreds of Schools and Nonprofits
Aug 27, 2009
Verizon Employees at 28 Locations in Maryland and Washington, D.C., Donate Nearly $32,000 Worth of Household Items to Local Domestic Violence Shelters
May 18, 2009
Mary's Center for Maternal & Child Care Wins Verizon Tech Savvy Award
Mar 04, 2009
Free Lesson Plans, Teacher Resources and Student Activities Bring Black History Month to Life at Thinkfinity.org
Jan 29, 2009
Verizon Employees to Volunteer at Schools in Five States to Commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
Jan 16, 2009
Verizon VolunteersVolunteers Make the Difference
Community Broadband Initiatives
 

Visit http://www.thinkfinity.org today!

 

Verizon Velocity
Mid-Atlantic Nonprofits Can Cash In on the Popularity of Verizon's Products
Mar 27, 2008

Verizon's 08/09 Corporate Responsibility Report

Learn more about HopeLine

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