The plight of people in the flood-ravaged African nation of Mozambique has touched the hearts of many Bell Atlantic employees.

This spring, the Consortium of Information and Telecommunications Executives (CITE), a Bell Atlantic employee group representing more than 2,000 African-American employees, collected more than 1,700 boxes of clothing, blankets, canned food and other non-perishable items.

In addition, hundreds of Bell Atlantic employees contributed more than $35,000 to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, earmarked for Mozambique. Those funds have been matched with another $35,000 from the Bell Atlantic Foundation, the company's philanthropic arm.

CITE set up collection sites at more than two-dozen company locations. Donated items have been delivered to the Mozambique Mission to the United Nations in New York and the Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique in Washington for distribution to the thousands of people left homeless and destitute in the wake of the worst flood to hit the country in 50 years.

"On behalf of the government and the people of Mozambique, I would like to thank Bell Atlantic employees for their whole-hearted support, financial contributions and kind prayers to the flood victims in Mozambique," said Ishmael Valigy, charge d'affaires and second secretary at the Mozambique Embassy in Washington. "These donations, undoubtedly, will go a long way to alleviating the suffering of the victims and will enable the government to cope with this unfortunate tragedy," he added.

"I have never been prouder to be associated with CITE than I am now," said Morris Anderson, the organization's president. "The compassion and commitment of our members, and of Bell Atlantic employees throughout the East Coast, has made a real difference in thousands of lives."

Juan Rodriguez, the Bell Atlantic Foundation's director of employee volunteerism, said: "Working together, we were able to make a bigger impact and provide more resources to help the people in Mozambique."

The Bell Atlantic Foundation supports a variety of projects in the United States and abroad, with an emphasis on new technology applications in education, health and human services, the arts and humanities, and civic development in communities served by Bell Atlantic.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and information industry. With more than 44 million telephone access lines and more than 20 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.

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