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Verizon Communications

Company: Verizon Communications, Irving, Texas
Company Description: Verizon is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. With a diverse workforce of 200,000+, Verizon has four business units: Domestic Telecom, Wireless, Information Services and International. Verizon is also America's Literacy Champion. Verizon Reads, the award-winning philanthropy program, reaches out to the more than 40 million Americans with low literacy skills.
Nomination Category: Company, Office & Product Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program

Nomination Title: Literacy Changes Lives - Verizon Reads

   1. Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved in 2004 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

The literacy crisis facing our country threatens to cripple the United States’
future as a competitive economy with an educated, competent workforce.  Ninety-two million Americans cannot read the label on a can of peas, and studies prove that illiterate parents raise illiterate children.  To compound this issue, the U.S.
Department of Education reports that 61 percent of low-income families have no
books in their homes, and studies confirm that access to books, not poverty, is
the critical variable affecting one’s ability to read. 

More than a decade ago, Verizon set out to be America’s Literacy Champion, and
established Verizon Reads, an award-winning corporate philanthropy program that
has achieved substantial success by building a network of partnerships. 

2004 was a record-setting year for Verizon Reads.

In addition to giving more than $20 million to literacy programs, the company held
more than 200 community events featuring pro-bono Verizon Literacy Champions
like NFL stars Ronde and Tiki Barber, and Grammy-winning jazz musician Al
Jarreau, to increase awareness of the literacy crisis in America.

Verizon Reads’ signature employee partnership, Season’s Readings, also made
history.  This year, Verizon partnered with Barnes & Noble and the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) to make Season’s Readings 2004 the largest one-
month book drive in history, and to deliver one million books to one million
children.  More than 800 Barnes & Noble stores participated and more than 440
Verizon locations hosted book drives, resulting in more than one million donated
books and 41,000 volunteer hours pledged by Verizon employees.  NCFL
distributed the donated books to organizations in need.   

Verizon Reads has increased its efforts to involve more corporate partners.  In
2004, Verizon Reads and Scholastic Inc. joined to launch Lee y serás (Read and
You Will Be), a community-based program targeting improving literacy among
Hispanics by focusing on education in the home.  The program launched in Dallas
to 350 national and state Hispanic leaders, and will be rolled out in other major
markets throughout 2005. 

Since 1999, Verizon has provided its customers an opportunity to collectively raise
millions for local literacy programs by donating $1 each month by checking a box
on their phone bill.  The program, Check Into Literacy, raised approximately $1
million in 2004.  As with all Verizon Reads programs, 100 percent of the
contributions are distributed to literacy charities in the state in which the
donation was made. 

Verizon Reads partners with more than 24 national literacy partners to increase
the impact of literacy outreach at the national level.  Verizon’s collaboration
with NCFL and ProLiteracy Worldwide has resulted in the world’s first online university dedicated to literacy.  The Verizon Literacy Campus (VLC) is dedicated to providing information to help anyone participate in building a more literate
nation.  Verizon invested $5.5 million over five years to create the first and only free
online training center created to meet the need of literacy organizations to find,
train and retain volunteers and staff.  Over the past year, VLC connected nearly 10,000 volunteers to literacy organizations in need. 


   2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]:

http://verizonreads.net/
http://verizonreads.net/news/default.asp
http://verizonreads.net/news/2004_press_releases.asp
http://verizonreads.net/programs/default.asp
http://verizonreads.net/champions/default.asp
http://verizonreads.net/check_into.asp
http://verizonreads.net/vlc.asp
http://www.literacycampus.org/
http://www.literacycampus.org/course/index.asp
http://www.literacycampus.org/volunteer/index.asp
http://www.literacycampus.org/success/Drustella18132.asp
http://www.literacycampus.org/success/Jim74658.asp
http://famlit.org/seasons-readings.cfm
http://famlit.org/AboutNCFL/PressRoom/CurrentPressReleases/2004Tabloid.cfm
http://famlit.org/Publications/Momentum/August2000/verizon.cfm
http://www.redskins.com/includes/display/printArticle.jsp?id=4085
http://www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/community/programs/leeyseras.htm
http://www.hispanicprwire.com/news_in.php?id=2053&cha=6
http://www.scholastic.com/familymatters/read/all/leeyseras/index.htm

   3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:

CEO Ivan Seidenberg testified before the U.S. Subcommittee on Education
Reform, requesting increased funding for literacy programs.  Ivan’s leadership was
the key driver behind establishing Verizon’s literacy platform.  He provides the
top-down support that allows Verizon Reads to provide every employee and customer the incentive and opportunity to positively affect lives, and the dollars,
through the Verizon Foundation, to back up their commitment.  Ivan believes that improved reading and communications skills reinforce the foundation of American business and strengthens the economic health and educational opportunity of the nation.  Verizon Reads is good for Verizon’s workforce, communities and customers.