Golden State Warriors and Verizon Wireless Team up to Call a Timeout on Domestic Violence; Fans can get involved by recycling old wireless phones at the March 11 home game.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The Golden State Warriors and Verizon Wireless invite fans to go 'green' and help curb domestic violence in the community.

Fans attending the Warriors home game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, March 11 can donate their used wireless phones and accessories to the Verizon Wireless HopeLine phone recycling program. Drop boxes will be located near the box office and on the concourse.

"We're excited to partner with Verizon Wireless to highlight the HopeLine program for the fourth year in a row," said Robert Rowell, Golden State Warriors president. "By getting the fans involved, we can have a bigger impact in the community."

This is the fourth season the Golden State Warriors and Verizon Wireless have teamed up for a special HopeLine phone collection.

"We encourage Warriors fans to donate their old cell phones, batteries and accessories to HopeLine," said Kevin Zavaglia, Verizon Wireless region president. "This is a simple way to help someone in need, while keeping old wireless equipment out of the waste stream."

Verizon Wireless and the Golden State Warriors also partnered with the Family Violence Prevention Fund to host a Coaching Boys into Men(SM) seminar. Coaching Boys into Men is a Coaches Leadership Program that partners with athletic coaches to help young male athletes practice respect towards themselves and others. In January, more than 100 Bay Area high school basketball coaches attended the event and learned how to use their platform to help young athletes build healthy relationships and serve as role models of respect and integrity in their schools and communities.

"We all have to be role models--it's true that it takes a town to raise a child," said 5th grade basketball coach, Mat Steinberg, from the St. Michael/St. George Catholic Youth Organization League in Livermore. "The Coaching Boys into Men program provided some great tools that can help all coaches have a positive impact on the young people in our lives."

About HopeLine

Verizon Wireless' HopeLine program collects no-longer used wireless phones, batteries and accessories from any wireless service provider at its Communications Stores nationwide and puts the nation's most reliable wireless network to work in local communities by turning these unused wireless phones into support for victims of domestic violence.

Equipment can be donated to the HopeLine program year-round at any Verizon Wireless Communications Store across the country or through the mail by downloading a postage-paid label at www.verizonwireless.com/hopelinemailinglabel. For more information, please visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 91 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 83,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (Nasdaq and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless