October 27, 2016
HOPELINE® FROM VERIZON DONATION HELPS WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S ALLIANCE AID SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE
Funds to provide financial literacy education
For Immediate Release
Boise, Idaho – The Women’s and Children’s Alliance (WCA), a non-profit agency serving those whose lives have been touched by the national epidemic of domestic violence, recently received a HopeLine from Verizon grant of $10,000 to expand its work. Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine program supports domestic violence prevention and awareness programs in Boise and nationwide.
The Women’s and Children’s Alliance provides safety, healing and freedom from domestic abuse and sexual assault. The WCA operates secure shelters and provides professional counseling, legal advocacy, crisis services and case management to survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.
“This donation from Verizon Wireless will help us reach out to those who need our services in the community,” said Bev La Chance, WCA Deputy Director. “It will be used to provide financial literacy education to victims of domestic and/or sexual violence. This component to the WCA’s direct victim services is a collaborative partnership using evidence-based curriculum designed to empower women to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Through personal financial and money management education, women can move toward greater economic and personal autonomy and move away from abuser dependency.”
The HopeLine program collects no-longer used wireless phones, batteries and accessories from any wireless carrier. Phones that can be refurbished are sold for reuse and those without value are disposed of in an environmentally sound way. Proceeds from the program are used to provide wireless phones and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness.
“In 2015, 56 percent of our clients indicated they were prevented from having access to household money and financial resources, and 63 percent were not consulted about financial decisions by their partner,” said La Chance, “Our goal is to ensure, as best we can, that our moms do not face the difficult choice of returning themselves and their children to an abusive relationship in order to maintain a roof over their heads, or becoming another homeless statistic due to domestic violence.”
In addition to safe shelter, the WCA offers case management, counseling, court advocacy, education and a variety of other integrated services and programs to women, men and children victimized by abuse.
HopeLine phone donations are accepted at all Verizon Wireless Communications stores across the nation. For more information about HopeLine, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.
For more information about Women’s and Children’s Alliance, call 208-343-3688 or visit www.wcaboise.org.
