ALPHARETTA, Ga., Nov. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In a ceremony held today at the company's South Area headquarters Verizon announced it has donated more than $800,000 to domestic violence advocacy organizations across the state of Georgia in 2014. The event was held to show gratitude to over 50 organizations for their tireless work in domestic violence awareness and prevention efforts. Additionally, in honor of Veteran's Day, the company recognized Georgia's military organizations doing exceptional work in domestic violence prevention.

Verizon has a nationally recognized commitment to raising awareness of domestic violence and aiding in its prevention, supporting domestic violence organizations via HopeLine, Verizon Wireless' phone recycling program, and the Verizon Foundation, which invests in domestic violence agencies and organizations that provide education, prevention, care for victims and empowerment resources.

Verizon Wireless Presents 2014 HopeLine Hero Award

The event also honored Judge Peggy H. Walker, president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, with the 2014 HopeLine Hero Award for her tireless work against domestic violence and her support of victim assistance. Walker currently serves as a judge with the Juvenile Court of Douglas County, Georgia.

"Verizon has a longstanding commitment to supporting the many organizations that help domestic violence victims across the state. We are honored to recognize all of these organizations and individuals we work with throughout the year to bring the issue to light and help victims live free from violence," said Jonathan LeCompte, president – Georgia/Alabama Region, Verizon Wireless. 

To cap off the event, Verizon Wireless presented a donation of $10,000 from its HopeLine fund to the Atlanta Mission to support the organization's Thanksgiving holiday meal. Atlanta Mission plans to serve 17,000 of Atlanta's homeless the week of November 24.

Since the launch of the HopeLine phone recycling program in 2001, HopeLine from Verizon has collected more than 10.8 million phones, given out more than $21.4 million in cash grants, and distributed more than 180,000 phones for use by domestic violence survivors. For more information about HopeLine from Verizon go to www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest and most reliable 4G LTE network. As the largest wireless company in the U.S., Verizon Wireless serves 106.2 million retail customers, including 100.1million retail postpaid customers. Verizon Wireless is wholly owned by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com.  For the latest news and updates about Verizon Wireless, visit our News Center at http://www.verizonwireless.com/news or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VZWNews. 

About the Verizon Foundation
The Verizon Foundation is focused on accelerating social change by using the company's innovative technology to help solve pressing problems in education, healthcare and energy management.  Since 2000, the Verizon Foundation has invested more than half a billion dollars to improve the communities where Verizon employees work and live. Verizon's employees are generous with their donations and their time, having logged more than 6.8 million hours of service to make a positive difference in their communities. For more information about Verizon's philanthropic work, visit www.verizonfoundation.org; or for regular updates, visit the Foundation on Facebook (www.facebook.com/verizonfoundation) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/verizongiving).

SOURCE Verizon Wireless