With today being Earth Day, many people are making commitments to begin living “greener” lives. A great way to start is by transitioning your home into a more tech environmentally-friendly place to live every day. Here are a few ways that Verizon Wireless suggests you can get a jump start on being more green in your home life:

• Panasonic Solar Charger: Use the power of the sun to charge your batteries, rather than electricity. SolarSmart uses an extremely efficient solar panel to charge two Panasonic rechargeable AA battery cells that can be easily removed and used in devices. The unit can also power smart devices through USB cables, and can even serve as a powerful LED light source.

• Multitask with a Tablet: Tablets consume less energy than PCs and laptops, and can serve several functions: book reader, game player, Internet browser, music player, video player. Tablets such as the new Galaxy Tab 10.1 even feature an S Pen that can turn it into a notepad and sketch board.
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In 2012, Verizon Wireless’ philanthropic arm, the Verizon Foundation, donated more than $450,000 in grants to non-profit organizations in Illinois and Wisconsin.

The Verizon Foundation helps people to live healthy, safe and independent lives by addressing disparities in education, health care and sustainability. Since 2000, the Verizon Foundation has invested more than half a billion dollars to improve the communities where Verizon employees work and live.

As part of the Foundation’s focus on health care, many resources are also dedicated to domestic violence prevention, complementing Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine® program, which turns unused cell phones into support for domestic violence victims and survivors. Dollars are invested in organizations that provide education, prevention, victim relief and empowerment resources.

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While parents are becoming keenly aware of the dangers that exist regarding their children’s online usage, a growing concern is emerging regarding the act of cyberbullying. Similar to its in-person counterpart, cyberbullying can involve significant stress and emotional turmoil for youths as harassment permeates their online usage. What’s more concerning, though, is that cyberbullying can impact up to one-third of teens. Another form of harassment, digital dating abuse, is also on the rise. This digital torment tends to occur in private avenues of online interaction, such as email or text messaging.

Maude Dornfeld, community education director at Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center in Duluth, MN, points out that many young people are not comfortable bringing an adult into the conversation regarding cyberbullying or digital dating abuse, oftentimes out of fear it will lead to a restriction in their online access. (more…)

Pat O’Donnell, director of mission advancement at Dear Neighbor Ministries and StepStone, discusses the problem of domestic violence and what his organization is doing to help survivors recover and grow.  

Approximately one in four women, and one in seven men, are affected by domestic violence nationwide. In Wichita, Kansas, alone, police investigate a distressing 19 cases of domestic violence each day. In many of these instances, the victim’s decision to leave their abusive partner depends on whether they have a safe place to go – a decision that can unfortunately be a matter of life or death.

Most major metropolitan areas have domestic violence shelters where victims can stay for a certain amount of time. However, after their time is up, they must find a new place to go. In many cases, victims of domestic violence are faced with only two options: return to their abuser or live on the streets.

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February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, but the staggering statistics surrounding this issue call for a heightened level of awareness year-round. According to research provided by the Rose Brooks Center in Kansas City, Missouri, young females in the teen demographic are extremely susceptible to dating violence. In fact, approximately one in three adolescent girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner – a figure that far exceeds victimization rates for other types of violence affecting youth.

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