Verizon Foundation Grant of $53,000 Will Enable Indiana Teachers to Receive Free...

Verizon Foundation Grant of $53,000 Will Enable Indiana Teachers to Receive
Free Training to Use Thinkfinity.org's Online Resources

Thinkfinity.org Now Also Offers Additional Free Educational Resources for
Parents, Students and After-School Programs

INDIANAPOLIS, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Indiana Department of Education on
Wednesday (June 24) received a $53,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to
raise awareness and train teachers throughout the state to use thousands of
free educational resources available on Thinkfinity.org.

Thinkfinity.org is the Verizon Foundation's comprehensive online portal to
more than 55,000 educational and literacy resources for teachers, parents and
students. Resources include standards-based, grade-specific, K-12 lesson plans
and engaging interactive activities provided in partnership with many of the
nation's leading educational and literacy organizations.

Thinkfinity.org offers elementary through high school teachers resources
across eight academic disciplines, from science to English to mathematics, to
improve student achievement. Thinkfinity.org is designed to help teachers gain
access quickly to online resources.

"We have made it a priority at the Indiana Department of Education to expand
the array of learning resources available to our teachers and students across
the state," said Dr. Tony Bennett, superintendent of public instruction. "We
see the Thinkfinity.org resources as a great complement to our ever-expanding
collection of digital and Web-based content in support of student learning."

The Indiana Department of Education has aligned the Thinkfinity.org resources
to state academic standards and expects to offer training and awareness
opportunities for educators throughout the state. The Thinkfinity.org
resources, along with many others, are available on the Department of
Education Web site at www.doe.in.gov/standards.

To make the Thinkfinity.org site even more valuable to teachers, students and
parents, the Verizon Foundation recently announced several enhancements and
improvements, including:
-- The addition of 500 new resources.
-- Individual portals to allow users to search for resources targeted to
educators, students, parents or after-school programs.
-- A dynamic new look.
-- A simple, more comprehensive search engine.
-- Ability to search for resources tailored to individual state
standards.

In addition to providing standards-based resources from the nation's leading
educational and literacy organizations, Thinkfinity.org also offers a
comprehensive professional-development program that allows teachers to sign up
for free online or face-to-face training to learn how to make the most of
Thinkfinity.org tools.

The face-to-face training will be arranged and led by trainers from the
Indiana Department of Education who have received in-depth instruction from
Thinkfinity.org trainers.

"Whether it's an English teacher looking for resources to spark a love of
reading in a student, or a parent seeking a convenient and user-friendly
educational activity to stimulate the mind of a young child, Thinkfinity.org
will help them quickly and easily find the information needed to improve
student achievement," said Neil Krevda, Verizon's vice president of external
affairs in Indiana.

Content for Thinkfinity.org is provided through a partnership between the
Verizon Foundation and 11 of the nation's leading organizations in the fields
of education and literacy: the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, International Reading Association, The John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts, National Center for Family Literacy, National Council on
Economic Education, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Council of
Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National
Geographic Society, ProLiteracy Worldwide and the Smithsonian National Museum
of American History.

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications,
supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free
educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of
domestic violence. In 2008, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $68
million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. It also
matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting
in an additional $26 million in combined contributions to nonprofits. 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 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit
www.verizonfoundation.org.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global
leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications
services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.
Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving
more than 86 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations
provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over
the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. Wireline also includes
Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to
customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse
workforce of more than 237,000 and last year generated consolidated operating
revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit
www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and
biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other
information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at
www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News
Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news
releases.

SOURCE Verizon

Lee Gierczynski of Verizon, +1-412-633-5574, lee.j.gierczynski@verizon.com; or
Jason Bearce of Indiana Dept. of Education, +1-317-232-6618,
jbearce@doe.in.gov