Verizon Business senior vice president, Bob Toohey, today presented the Hong Kong Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council (NAAC) with HKD 232,800 at a special ceremony.

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, will support the NAAC's Tung Chung Integrated Services Centre's programme to offer educational training and support to families in the community. The grant, and Verizon Business volunteers, will support the community as it works to deliver Chinese and English language skills, a reading programme, homework clubs and community citizenship training with the objective of providing participants with the skills they need to maximise their future life opportunities.

Tung Chung, situated on the north-western coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong, has a large population of multi-racial families who are newly arrived in the territory from either mainland China or South Asia to find work. There is a large population of school age children, yet few dedicated resources for their education or advancement.

The NAAC is developing programmes with corporate partners such as Verizon Business to address child and adult literacy, basic IT skills and community integration. Overall, the Council hopes that by giving local youth access to new skills, and the opportunity to meet people from outside the community, it will also be able to actively raise their aspirations and promote inclusion in the broader Hong Kong community.

The Tung Chung Integrated Services Centre is part of the NAAC's Family and Child Welfare Division. Founded in 2001, it provides youth and parents of Tung Chung with a wide variety of support and specialised programmes, including family education, after-school care services, school support services and job-skills training.

Verizon Business' support for the Tung Chung Integrated Services initiative is part of the company's global Community Investment programme. This is designed to foster links between the company and those communities where Verizon Business employees and customers live and work, and is particularly focused on innovation in education.

Bob Toohey, who heads up the human resources team at Verizon Business, commented, "Programmes of this kind give local residents access to skills and experiences, as well as training, outside the scope of their everyday life. We are confident that the grant, and the time committed by our local employees, will help the NAAC in its efforts to support the integration of Tung Chung into the broader Hong Kong community. Importantly, it also enables our own employees to give broaden their own horizons, perspectives and experience."

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its signature program, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence. In 2007, the foundation awarded more than US$67.4 million in grants to non-profit agencies in the United States and abroad. The foundation also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in
US$25.1 million in combined contributions. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 3 million hours of community service since Verizon's inception in 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizon.com/foundation.

About Verizon Business
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