Oct. 12, 2007
ATLANTA – The Yellow Jacket volleyball team has teamed with the Georgia Tech chapter of Alpha Chi Omega in collecting used cell phones as part of the Verizon Wireless HopeLine program, which puts wireless technology in the hands of domestic violence victims.
Fans attending the Tech-Clemson volleyball match, which begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, may gain free admission with the donation of an old cell phone at the door of O’Keefe Gymnasium. The phones will be used to benefit domestic violence victims within the state of Georgia.
More about HomeLine: Since the introduction of the national program in October, 2001, HopeLine has received more than four million phones and distributed more than $10 million in cash grants and wireless service to domestic violence prevention and awareness programs across the country. Phones donated to HopeLine are refurbished and resold with proceeds directed to HopeLine. With the funds raised from the sale of donated phones, Verizon Wireless purchases wireless phones, then donates them complete with service through partnerships with domestic violence advocacy organizations or local government and law enforcement agencies. From an environmental protection standpoint, the program has facilitated the recycling of nearly one million phones, keeping them out of landfills.
Why donate? Women need the phones as a literal lifeline. Statistics show that at least one in every three women has been abused during her lifetime, and Georgia ranks eighth in the nation in rate of women that are murdered. The phones create funds that go to local shelters and domestic violence programs.
For more questions regarding this program, please contact Laura in the Georgia Tech Marketing Office.
