Senator Klein, Trustee Fitzpatrick & Eastchester-tuckahoe Lions Team Up With Verizon Wireless Against Domestic Violence

Village of Tuckahoe Trustee John Fitzpatrick and The Eastchester -Tuckahoe Lions, is teaming up with Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine®, to urge all Eastchester residents to help survivors of domestic violence by donating their no-longer-used wireless phones during the first two weeks of March. For each unused phone donated to HopeLine®, Verizon Wireless will donate $5, up to $2,500, to benefit My Sisters’ Place, in White Plains.

“Unfortunately, the cycle of violence against women persists in our society and too often women die in silence, struggling to find a way out. Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine® program is not only a way to get involved and help save a life, but an opportunity to get rid of those used cell phones and protect the environment,” said Senator Klein.

“I urge all residents of Tuckahoe and the Town of Eastchester to get involved and support this exemplary program. We need to do everything we can to help curb domestic violence and keep our community safe for women and families,” added Trustee Fitzpatrick.

In addition to the cash donation to My Sisters’ Place, Verizon Wireless will donate 10 prepaid wireless phones for distribution to women at risk, allowing them to call for help in emergencies and to make phone calls necessary to rebuild their lives.

For more than 10 years Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine® recycling program has collected old, no-longer-used cell phones to be recycled or sold, and donated the proceeds in the form of cash grants and prepaid wireless phones to advocacy groups for battered women. The program has collected more than 3.5 million wireless phones, and given more than $3 million in cash grants and nearly 40,000 phones to domestic violence prevention and awareness programs across the country.

Locally, Verizon Wireless customers in the New York Metro region donated more than 30,000 old wireless phones to HopeLine® in 2006, resulting in donations valued at more than $250,000.

My Sisters’ Place (MSP) is a not-for-profit organization serving Westchester County that provides a wide variety of resources to victims of domestic violence such as advocacy, shelter and legal services. For more information about My Sisters' Place programs, please call 914-683-1333.

Donations can be made to any of the following four sites generously established by the Eastchester-Tuckahoe Lions:

Tuckahoe Library, 71 Columbus Ave., Tuckahoe
Crestwood Metro-North Station, 1 Columbus Ave., Tuckahoe
Bronxville Metro-North Station, 113 Kraft Ave., Bronxville
Eastchester Library, 11 Oakridge Pl., Eastchester

Old wireless phones also continue to be collected at HopeLine® kiosks in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores in Westchester County and throughout the New York Metro area.