ALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2007--The Qwest Foundation has shown its commitment to helping minority-owned businesses get off the ground by donating $2,500 to the Pete Suazo Business Center, the company announced today.

The Pete Suazo Business Center is a business resource committed to the development and empowerment of the Latino/Hispanic and other underserved communities. It provides assistance to help existing and potential minority entrepreneurs succeed and build wealth.

"Pete Suazo was a great leader, not only in the Hispanic community, but throughout the state," said Jerry Fenn, Qwest president for Utah. "Qwest is proud to collaborate with the Pete Suazo Business Center to help build and strengthen the Latino business community in Salt Lake."

Rod Castillo, development director of the Pete Suazo Business Center, said, "Clients come in with an idea and a dream, and we want to help them become realities. We offer counseling, instruction and mentoring at no charge to help them succeed. Qwest is a big part of our clients' future success."

Through political advocacy, Pete Suazo worked to enact or change laws aimed at attacking the dynamics of race, class and gender that kept people in the state from living the American Dream. He was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 1992, then again in 1994. In 1996 Suazo was elected to the Utah State Senate where he continued to fight for Utah's Latino/Hispanic population. In August 2001, Suazo was killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident.

About Qwest Foundation

The Qwest Foundation's core principle is that investing in people and communities provides lasting value for the future. The Qwest Foundation awards grants to community-based programs that generate high-impact and measurable results, focusing on pre-K through grade 12 education.

About Pete Suazo Business Center

The Pete Suazo Business Center was founded in fall 2002 as a non-profit organization focused on aiding underserved entrepreneurs. The center is dedicated to following the ideals of its namesake, the late state Sen. Pete Suazo, who was known for championing the cause of Utah's Latino/Hispanic population. The Pete Suazo Business Center helps potential and existing business owners achieve their goals by providing necessary resources and information to make entrepreneurial dreams a reality.

Copyright Business Wire 2007

Qwest Communications International

Qwest Communications International

Qwest offers a unique and powerful combination of managed voice and data solutions for businesses, government agencies and consumers - locally and throughout the country. Customers coast to coast are turning to Qwest's industry-leading national fiber optic network and its Spirit of Service for quality products and superior customer experience. Qwest is a participant in Networx, the largest communications services contract in the world, to provide leading-edge voice, data and video services. For more information on Qwest, and its various operating subsidiaries, please go to www.qwest.com. For information about the products and services Qwest is offering in the Networx contract, visit www.gsanetworx.com. The Qwest logo is a registered trademark of Qwest Communications International Inc. in the U.S. and certain other countries.

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