California Verizon Employees Donate $40000 Worth of Supplies to Assist Area Schools

California Verizon Employees Donate $40,000 Worth of Supplies to Assist Area Schools

Items Collected by Employees Through Companywide 'Tools for School' Campaign

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Sept. 3 -- Verizon employees throughout California collected nearly $40,000 worth of items to donate to schools in their communities during a recent Tools for School drive.

The employees are among workers at 372 Verizon locations throughout the country who took part in the two-week campaign to collect new pens and pencils, rulers, crayons, backpacks, and other items children need to start the school year. In all, employees donated an estimated $300,000 worth of supplies to more than 300 schools and nonprofits across the U.S. (Note: A list of California schools benefiting from the campaign is available at the end of the release.)

"Supporting education and literacy has long been a primary social cause for Verizon," said Elva Lima, vice president -- strategic programs for Verizon. "Whether it's by providing interactive educational tools on Verizon's Thinkfinity.org Web site, or classroom supplies, Verizon will continue to support efforts to give parents, students and teachers the tools needed to help all children succeed."

Thinkfinity.org is the Verizon Foundation's comprehensive program and online portal to 55,000 standards-based, grade-specific, K-12 lesson plans and other educational resources provided in partnership with many of the nation's leading educational and literacy organizations.

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its signature program, Thinkfinity.org, and promotes health and safety. In 2007, the foundation awarded more than $67.4 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the United States and abroad. The foundation also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in $25.1 million in combined contributions. 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 Verizon's inception in 2000.

For more information about Verizon California and the foundation, visit www.verizon.com/ca.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) , headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving nearly 69 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 228,600 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of $93.5 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

California schools that benefited from Verizon's Tools for School campaign:

  Santa Fe Elementary School                          Baldwin Park
  Bloomington High School                             Bloomington
  Downey YMCA                                         Downey
  Charles Brown Elementary School                     El Dorado
  Hemet Elementary School                             Hemet
  Oak Creek Elementary School                         Irvine
  Robert E. Lee Elementary School                     Long Beach
  Burnett Elementary School                           Long Beach
  32nd Street/USC Performing Arts Magnet School       Los Angeles
  School On Wheels                                    Malibu
  Peach Hill Elementary School                        Moorpark
  New River Elementary School                         Norwalk
  Elderberry Elementary School                        Ontario
  Orcutt Academy Grades 1-9                           Orcutt
  Boys & Girls Clubs Of Oxnard And Port Hueneme       Oxnard
  El Centrito Learning Center                         Oxnard
  Cesar E. Chavez Elementary School                   Oxnard
  Pacoima Charter School                              Pacoima
  Val Verde Unified School District                   Perris
  Abraham Lincoln Elementary School                   Sacramento
  Wilson Elementary School                            San Bernardino
  Rio Vista Elementary School                         San Bernardino
  McKinley Elementary School                          San Francisco
  Riverglen Elementary School                         San Jose
  Taft Elementary School                              Santa Ana
  Harding Elementary School                           Santa Barbara
  John Muir School                                    Santa Monica
  Liberty Elementary School                           Victorville
  Victor Elementary School District                   Victorville
  Elkhorn Village Elementary School                   West Sacramento
  Christian Sorensen Elementary School                Whittier