Bell Atlantic Foundation Web Site and News Release Win APEX '99 Awards of Excellence

Bell Atlantic Foundation Web Site and News
Release
Win APEX '99 Awards of Excellence

July 13, 1999

NEW YORK -- The Bell Atlantic Foundation has won two APEX '99
Awards of Excellence for Internet Web site design and news release
writing. The APEX '99 competition for communications professionals
from throughout North America is sponsored by the editors of
"Writing That Works: The Business Communications Report"
and drew nearly 5,000 entries in 104 categories.

"We are delighted to receive these awards," said Suzanne
DuBose, president of the Bell Atlantic Foundation. "They are a
testament to the tremendous strides we have made in promoting our
philanthropic efforts. The success of our Web site is also evidenced by the
increasing number of grant applications the Bell Atlantic Foundation has
received online and the large volume of traffic to the site."

DuBose shared the award for Web site design with a team at Integrated
Data Solutions (IDS), led by Sean Flanagan, which designed the site. IDS,
of North Andover, Mass., is an Internet technology firm that helped the
foundation establish its Internet presence two years ago.

In addition, Michael Kornfeld, who directs the Bell Atlantic Foundation's
media relations efforts, and Monica Worth, a consultant to the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., won an award for their news release
promoting a traveling half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial. The Bell Atlantic Foundation sponsored a visit by the exhibit
to New York last fall.

IDS continues to upgrade and maintain the foundation's Web site with
input from DuBose, the Bell Atlantic Foundation staff and Bell Atlantic
community relations managers.

Since 1997, leaders and development directors of non-profit organizations
and educational institutions have turned to the Bell Atlantic Foundation
Web site to access information on Bell Atlantic's philanthropic programs,
to communicate directly with foundation officials via e-mail and to apply
for grants online. Earlier this year, the Web site,
www.bellatlanticfoundation.com, was redesigned to make it more
informative and easier to use. In addition, organizations and individuals
now can apply for in-kind contributions and request volunteers online.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation Web site also won a Gold Medal for
excellence in communications in the 1998 Wilmer Shields Rich Awards
program sponsored by the Council on Foundations and the
Communications Network.

The site features a section on "best-in-class" technology grants
from across the Eastern seaboard and a short quiz that fundraising and
development directors can take to determine their organizations' eligibility
for grants. A selection of news releases issued by the Bell Atlantic
Foundation and its grant recipients also appears on the Web site.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation supports a variety of projects domestically
and internationally, with an emphasis on new technology applications in
education, health and
human services, the arts and humanities, and civic development in the
communities served
by Bell Atlantic. For more information, visit
www.bellatlanticfoundation.com on the Internet.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and
information industry. With more than 43 million telephone access lines
and nine million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies
are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services,
market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of
directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's
largest investors in high-growth global communications markets, with
operations and investments in 23 countries.