The United Nations officially declared a famine in East Africa. Verizon Wireless has quickly implemented a mobile giving program for customers looking for a simple way to contribute to relief efforts in East Africa. The company said today that customers can use their mobile phones to make $10 donations to a variety of nonprofit organizations responding to the famine and the millions of people in need of food aid - including UNICEF, World Vision and International Rescue Committee.

"When the U.N. declared a famine in East Africa, we knew that our innovative technology could help make a difference. We quickly took action and set up this mobile giving campaign, offering our customers an easy and secure way to get involved in the relief efforts," said Marquett Smith, vice president of corporate communications at Verizon Wireless.

Customers can choose from three different nonprofit organizations and make $10 donations by sending a text message. Donating is easy - customers simply text the specific word to the organization's designated short code:

Verizon Wireless always waives text-messaging fees for disaster relief, so text messages are free when used to make donations to any of these organizations, and 100 percent of each $10 donation goes to the relief organization. For Verizon Wireless customers who pay monthly bills, the $10 donations will appear on the next regular monthly bill. For customers using the company's prepaid services, the $10 donation will be taken from customers' prepaid balances.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's fastest, most advanced 4G network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 106.3 million total wireless connections, including 89.7 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 83,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: 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.

Verizon Communications Inc.

Verizon Communications Inc.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 93 million retail customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500. A Dow 30 company with $111 billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 192,000. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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