146 Latino Students Across the Country to Receive $680,000 in Verizon Scholarships

Scholarship Funds Are Part of the More Than $ 31.7 Million Verizon Has Contributed Since 2006 to Support Nonprofit Organizations That Serve the Hispanic Community
Verizon has announced that it has awarded more than $680,000 in scholarships to 146 Hispanic students for the 2008-2009 school year.
The scholarship program is one of many programs that Verizon and its philanthropic arm, the Verizon Foundation, have in place to support the Hispanic community. The scholarships announcement was made in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, which began Monday (Sept. 15).
“Verizon has a long history of investing in the Latino community, including in the development of tomorrow’s leaders,” said Magda Yrizarry, Verizon chief diversity officer and vice president – workplace culture, diversity and compliance. “Across our richly diverse marketplace, from California to Texas to New York, Verizon remains committed to investing financial and human resources in partnerships and programs that directly benefit the Latino community.”
Among the organizations that have received grants from Verizon to fund scholarships are:

– Hispanic Scholarship Fund – $200,000 for 33 scholarships.
– Hispanic Business College Fund – $150,000 for 35 scholarships.
– Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology Program at the University
of Texas-Pan American – $25,000 for 5 scholarships.
– Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers National Scholarship -
$30,000 for 6 scholarships.
– University of Southern California/Mexican American Alumni Association -
$45,000 for 9 scholarships.
– Ten additional organizations and colleges and universities that serve
the Latino community received approximately $230,000 to award
scholarships.

In all, the Verizon Foundation has awarded more than $31.7 million in grants since 2006 to nonprofit organizations that benefit and serve the Hispanic Community. Some recent initiatives include:

– The creation of a special Hispanic Heritage Month resources section on
Thinkfinity.org, which provides free educational resources, lesson plans
and activities for teachers, parents and students. Thinkfinity.org is
the Verizon Foundation’s comprehensive program and online portal to
55,000 standards-based, grade-specific, K-12 lesson plans and other
educational resources provided in partnership with many of the
nation’s leading educational and literacy organizations.
– Verizon is a major sponsor of the National Council of La Raza’s
Alma Awards, an annual televised awards program that celebrates the
accomplishments of Latinos in the field of entertainment.
– A $1 million Verizon Foundation grant to expand the League of Latin
American Citizens’ (LULAC) Young Readers program, which is aimed at
improving literacy and academic achievement among Hispanic children in
grades 1-3.

The Verizon Foundation 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 $67.4 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the United States and abroad. The foundation also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in $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. “

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