Tuesday, 20 October 2009

• Domestic Violence Awareness Month Series:Verizon Wireless Announces Plans for Teen Dating Violence E

  Hello Readers,
  
  Spotlighting: Verizon Wireless
  
  Program: "Letter to My Child" Program to Center on Preventing Teen Dating Violence, Encouraging Parents to Talk Openly With Kids About Healthy Relationships
  
  
  Image Credit: Navin Pangti "FLICKR".com
  
  According to Yahoo Finance, "In recognition of October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Verizon Wireless announced today their plans to create a new program in Georgia designed to foster open communication between parents and their teens regarding healthy relationships. The Letter to My Child campaign, intended to prevent teen dating violence, will be launched in the spring of 2010. Over the next few months Verizon Wireless will develop an online community for parents to turn to for communication tips and help from other sources and peers. The website will provide online resources for parents and teens to inform them about teen dating violence and sexual assault and offer additional resources to seek help."
  
  

  "Our hope is that this homegrown program will reset the expectations, norms and behaviors of our young men and women, ultimately keeping our teens safer, happier and healthier," said Jeff Mango, president, Verizon Wireless Georgia/Alabama Region. "Through Letter to My Child, we will encourage parents to write letters to their teenagers, opening up the conversation regarding healthy relationships. We think the spring is a good time to launch this program, considering April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and that teens are getting ready for prom season, when there is much dating pressure."
  
  

  With the Letter to My Child Program, Parents will write their teens letters encouraging them to seek healthy relationships and defining unhealthy behavior. The program's aim is to educate parents about the role they play in preventing dating violence while also teaching teens about the signs to look for in their friends' and own relationships, their options and helping them make healthy choices, according to Verizon Wireless.
  

  Verizon Wireless is a recognized corporate leader for its commitment to preventing domestic/dating violence and raising awareness of the issue through their HopeLine program. HopeLine is a multifaceted program that includes a successful phone recycling and re-use effort, financial support for local and national domestic violence organizations, community and corporate awareness programs, and partnerships with law enforcement agencies, professional sports teams, educational institutions and corporations nationwide. Via their work with HopeLine, the company recognizes the need to teach young people about healthy relationships at an early age, according to Yahoo Finance.
  

  Consider these facts:

  • 1 in 3 teenagers report knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped, choked or physically hurt by their partner.
  • 1 in 4 teenage girls who have been in relationships reveal they have been pressured to perform or engage in sexual activity.
  • More than 1 in 4 teenage girls in a relationship (26%) report enduring repeated verbal abuse by their partner.
  • If trapped in an abusive relationship, 73% of teens said they would turn to a friend (not a parent) for help; but only 33% who have been in or known about an abusive relationship said they have told anyone about it.

  "We have been very involved for years with organizations and shelters that help victims of domestic violence in Georgia, through grants, phone collection efforts and hands-on volunteerism," said Mango. "We now want to reach out specifically to teens, when they start building romantic relationships, with a goal of preventing domestic violence before it starts."

  
  My Thoughts....
  
  Wow! Verizon Wireless has become a pivotal part of the community programs and ideas. They are setting the standards and the bar for more organizations (corporate and non-profit) to follow. I am excited that they are working on this program aimed at young students to help them learn about healthy relationship and how to function in them. It is also exciting that is in an unbiased way.
  
  Please be on the look-out for the website for their new Program, "Letter to My Child"
  
  For more information and link to the Press Release, click here.
  
  

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