NEWS RELEASE

HUNTSVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT

815 Wheeler Avenue      Huntsville, Alabama  35801
 

Initiative, Which Includes Citywide HopeLine Phone Drive, Aimed at Raising Awareness of Sexual Assault During the Month of April

WHO:  

Representatives from Verizon Wireless and the Huntsville Police Department including Police Chief Mark Hudson and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle

WHEN:

10:30 a.m.
Wednesday, April 6^th, 2011

WHERE:

City Hall
City Council Chambers
308 Fountain Circle, Huntsville

WHAT:  

Verizon Wireless and the Huntsville Police Department will hold a news conference to kick off “Know It Forward,” a month-long initiative intended to increase awareness about sexual assault during the month of April, which is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Verizon Wireless and the HPD are calling on residents to visit KnowItForward.com and share the facts about sexual assault with their personal network through social media channels like Facebook and Twitter.

The initiative also includes a community-wide HopeLine phone drive to help bolster community resources for response and prevention. Huntsville residents can donate their no longer used cell phones and accessories from any carrier at the Huntsville Police Department’s Headquarters Public Safety Center as well as their North, South and West precincts during the month of April or any Verizon Wireless store. Phones that can be refurbished are donated to domestic violence and sexual assault organizations to be provided to victims and survivors. Verizon Wireless also sells the parts from phones that cannot be refurbished, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to grants for these organizations.  For more information about HopeLine, please visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

Local businesses and organizations can get involved by requesting a HopeLine donation box for their offices. Simply send an email to givehope@hopelineal.com. 

Verizon will also be presenting a donation to the Crisis Services of North Alabama on behalf of the Huntsville Police Department to fund sexual assault awareness programs.

MEDIA:          Contact Kate Jay at 678-339-4828, kate.jay@verizonwireless.com

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest and most advanced 4G network and largest and most reliable 3G network, and serves more than 94 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 82,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD).  For more information, visit 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.