Verizon Communications

The National Conference on Citizenship and Points of Light, experts on civic engagement, in partnership with Bloomberg LP, announced the results of The Civic 50. IBM, Citi and AT&T Inc. take top honors in the first comprehensive ranking of S&P 500 companies that best use their time, talent and resources to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business.

Thanks to the generosity of Verizon customers in Virginia who participated in the company's Check Into Literacy program, 32 literacy-focused nonprofit organizations throughout the commonwealth received grants totaling $45,787.

The Check Into Literacy program allows Verizon landline telephone customers to support literacy by checking a box on their monthly phone bills to make a $1 tax-deductible donation to promote literacy.  Verizon then distributes these donations to local literacy organizations that serve the individual states in which the customers live.

A dollar a month may not seem like much, but it can go a long way to improving literacy skills in communities across New Jersey while also giving people the opportunity to succeed. Thanks to the generosity of Verizon customers in New Jersey who participated in the company's Check Into Literacy program, 51 nonprofit organizations throughout the state received $250,000 in grants to support literacy programs.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – May 10, 2010 –

Members and supporters of parent-teacher associations, community athletic organizations like Little Leagues, and churches and other registered nonprofits have found an easy way to raise thousands of dollars for their organizations with the help of Verizon.

Verizon offers nonprofits in the state an opportunity to participate in the Verizon Velocity Program, which provides eligible groups with contributions when their members or supporters purchase certain Verizon services: Verizon FiOS TV, Verizon FiOS Internet, Verizon High Speed Internet, Verizon Freedom Calling and Verizon Long Distancehome phone services, or DIRECTV Service through Verizon.

The Verizon Velocity program is providing support to dozens of grassroots groups such as PTAs at Frank C. Leal Elementary School in Cerritos, Vejar Elementary in Pomona, St. Linus School in Norwalk, Mark Twain Elementary in Long Beach and Kimberly Elementary in Redlands, and the Greater Works Church in Temecula. Last year, through the program, Verizon provided nearly $15,000 in funding to Southern California nonprofits.

January 12, 2010, Philadelphia, PRNewswire — Grants totaling $143,000 from Verizon Pennsylvania will open up a range of educational and scholarship opportunities for children served by 20 nonprofit organizations across the state.

NEW YORK, August  27, 2009 — Verizon employees across the country have collected more than $500,000 worth of back-to-school supplies to assist schools and nonprofit organizations. The volunteers participated in a three-week Tools for School campaign to collect new and gently used rulers, crayons, backpacks and other items children need to start the school year.

NEW YORK, August 18, 2009 — The Verizon Foundation has awarded a $15,000 grant to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) to support students enrolled in its professional development workshops and after-school program. Verizon has also provided an additional $10,000 to support BAM’s Spring Gala.

IRVINE, Calif., June 2, 2009 — Billabong USA is proud to announce the highly acclaimed alt-rockers The Airborne Toxic Event and indie pop stars Iglu & Hartly will perform live at the 3rd Annual Design For Humanity event on June 17, 2009 at Avalon/Bardot in Hollywood. Design for Humanity, Billabong's charitable initiative, will benefit charity: water (charitywater.org), a non-profit organization that works to bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. One hundred percent of ticket sale proceeds will go to charity: water.

The Verizon Foundation is helping Massachusetts public schools better prepare students to succeed in the 21st century. Amid the increased focus on student achievement, public schools across Massachusetts are invited to apply for grants that use the Verizon Foundation's Thinkfinity.org, an online education resource, to improve student learning.

Hundreds of nonprofit groups in Massachusetts received nearly $4.1 million from the Verizon Foundation in 2008, enabling the organizations to improve literacy skills, create new and diverse approaches to technology-based education, and help domestic violence victims rebuild their lives.