Verizon Awards $525,000 in Workforce Development Grants to 14 New York Nonprofits

NEW YORK - Fourteen nonprofit organizations in New York State will benefit from $525,000 in grants announced today by Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications.

The grants, ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 each, will fund workforce development programs that help support job retention, improve basic computer literacy skills, and aid vocational and disability programs.

"Economic vitality in New York depends on a skilled workforce," said Paul Crotty, Verizon New York and Connecticut group president. "Many of these grants will establish programs to help workers receive the necessary training to remain competitive in today's challenging labor market.

"As one of New York's largest employers, Verizon is committed to assisting in these efforts."

In March, nonprofit and educational organizations in New York were invited to compete for Verizon grants totaling more than $500.000 by submitting proposals outlining workforce development programs. Fourteen proposals were selected for funding.

Verizon workforce grant awardees are:
• BOCES Cattar-Allegany-Erie-Wyo -- $50,000 to improve technology training for GED, math and computer literacy programs and establish a career Web site for displaced workers.

• Thomas H. Slater Center, Inc. -- $50,000 to train unemployed high school and college dropouts for the New York State technician certificate in computer repair services in Westchester.

• Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation -- $45,000 to launch an online training course designed to promote job retention and career advancement among recently employed public assistance recipients citywide.

• The Long Island Federation of Labor AFL-CIO Development Center -- $40,000 to establish a labor consortium to create basic workforce training for dislocated workers.

• Lower Eastside Service Center, Inc. -- $40,000 to provide computer literacy training to rehabilitated substance abusers transitioning to the work place.

• Odyssey Foundation of New York, Inc. -- $40,000 to establish a computer center to provide basic workforce development training to Odyssey House residents receiving substance abuse treatment in Harlem.

• Opportunities For a Better Tomorrow -- $40,000 to provide workforce skills to low-income families and individuals in Brooklyn and Queens.

• South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation -- $40,000 to establish a computer literacy and job readiness training program for welfare-to-work individuals, and the unemployed.

• Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth, Inc. -- $38,000 to provide computer training and job retention skills to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals aged 18 and over, living in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

• Chemung Schuyler Steuben Workforce New York -- $30,000 to expand and centralize job readiness and retention training programs offered by nine partner organizations in central New York.

• The Workshop Inc. -- $30,000 to establish mobile computer training program for adults with disabilities. Grant will also help fund an employment Internet mentoring program in the Albany and Capital District.

• Queens Library Foundation -- $30,000 to expand English as Second Language program including use of video-conferencing to link the foundation's career centers in Jamaica and Flushing, Queens.

• Jawonio Foundation, Inc. -- $27,000 to provide job training and placement to people with disabilities and special needs in lower Westchester and Yonkers.

• New York Work Alliance Inc. -- $25,000 to expand workforce training and job retention for single mothers in Manhattan.

  Verizon Foundation last year awarded 22,000 grants totaling more than $70 million to nonprofit agencies that focus on improving basic and computer literacy, enriching communities through technology, and creating a skilled work force. In New York alone, 2,400 nonprofit organizations benefited from Verizon grants totaling more than $17 million. The foundation uses its resources in the United States and abroad to develop partnerships in technology and connect them with organizations serving the needs of diverse communities, people with disabilities, victims of domestic violence and the economically and socially disadvantaged. The foundation also supports Verizon Volunteers, an incentive program that last year encouraged Verizon employees to volunteer more than 500,000 hours in their communities and provided $27.8 million in matching gifts to nonprofit organizations. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizon.com/foundation.

  Verizon Communications

  A Fortune 10 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 136.6 million access line equivalents and 33.3 million Verizon Wireless customers. Verizon is the third-largest long-distance carrier for U.S. consumers, with 13.2 million long-distance lines, and the company is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. With approximately $67 billion in annual revenues and 227,000 employees, Verizon's global presence extends to the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.

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  Media contacts:
  Bob Bishop, Verizon Foundation, 202-515-2516
  Cliff Lee, upstate New York, 518-396-1095
  Daniel Diaz Zapata, New York City, 212-395-7602