First Lady Dianne Bentley Teams Up with Verizon Wireless to Raise Awareness of Domestic Violence

MONTGOMERY – First Lady Dianne Bentley and executives from Verizon Wireless on Wednesday announced continued efforts to raise awareness of the issue of domestic violence with the goal of empowering victims and eliminating the violence.

Mrs. Bentley will be featured in a public service announcement that will begin airing this week on television stations in Birmingham and Montgomery.  The public service announcement raises awareness of domestic violence and encourages people to donate their used phones to HopeLine.

HopeLine is Verizon Wireless’ national cell phone recycling and re-use program.  HopeLine collects no-longer-used wireless devices and accessories – all models, from all wireless carriers – which can then be refurbished, recycled and/or sold.  Proceeds benefit victims of domestic violence via cash grants to domestic violence counseling and support agencies.  Also, refurbished phones – complete with 3,000 minutes of wireless service – are provided to local domestic violence organizations or local government and law enforcement agencies for use with their domestic violence clients.

“Domestic violence is an often-overlooked issue that affects every community, so I have embraced domestic violence awareness and prevention as one of the causes that I will support as First Lady,” Mrs. Bentley said.  “I was excited to discover that Verizon Wireless has a program in place that gives Alabamians the opportunity to contribute to this important cause by simply donating your old phone.  The more phones we collect in Alabama, the more we can do to prevent abuse.”

In addition to helping Verizon Wireless spread the word about HopeLine, Mrs. Bentley has led efforts to collect more than 4,000 phones for HopeLine throughout this year.  Most recently, on Wednesday, Mrs. Bentley donated nearly 1,200 phones to the HopeLine outreach.  Verizon Wireless recognized First Lady Bentley with a 2012 HopeLine Hero Award earlier this year for her efforts on behalf of this cause.

  

Mrs. Bentley has also worked with the Alabama Department of Corrections to have phones that have been confiscated from inmates donated to HopeLine rather than the phones being destroyed.

“The Department of Corrections was pleased to help the First Lady in such a worthwhile cause that, unfortunately, impacts so many Alabamians,” Corrections Commissioner Kim Thomas said.  “Since learning of HopeLine and Mrs. Bentley’s involvement, our correctional staff has confiscated and is donating more than 1,500 cell phones confiscated from inmates in our prisons.  By helping with the First Lady's effort to raise awareness, the staff at the Department of Corrections is directly helping our fellow Alabamians who are harmed by their experiences with domestic violence. "

“It is an honor to work with First Lady Bentley as well as with the many domestic violence organizations across Alabama that work tirelessly to provide assistance to victims and help prevent more Alabamians from being victimized,” said Jonathan LeCompte, president – Georgia/Alabama region, Verizon Wireless.  “We look forward to seeing an increase in phone donations and, in turn, being able to provide more grant dollars to those deserving organizations.”

Members of the public are urged to join the donation effort.  People can donate a phone at any Verizon Wireless store or by mail.  To print a prepaid HopeLine mailing label, simply go to www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline. 

Tea with the Ladies of Safety Net

First Lady Dianne Bentley hosted a tea in honor of the ladies at Safety Net. This program helps facilitate positive changes in the lives of youth. The girls ranged in age from eleven to eighteen and were accompanied by ladies that spend time working with them.

Chef Jim Smith served a variety of tea sandwiches, scones, cookies, and banana bread to the girls during their time at the Mansion. They also got to select from a variety of hot teas. However once the girls began to sample tea, the First Lady had glass bottle Coca Colas and water served as well.

It is important to Mrs. Bentley to positively impact the lives of Alabamians so this is just one step in the process. She shared her personal story of growing up then gave a Mansion tour to the girls before the event concluded.

Children's of Alabama

First Lady Dianne Bentley toured Children's of Alabama at the beginning of June as part of the grand opening ceremonies. She was impressed by the creativity used on every floor and by the level of care available to the incoming patients. Another feature she enjoyed seeing is the roof gardens. Patients and families will be able to access these during their stay. Each garden is home to a variety of plants and fountains that add beauty and some normalcy to the hospital complex. The creators of this garden were innovative and thoughtful when constructing it so no matter what season, there will always be some aspect to enjoy.

News Article: Times Daily

PHIL CAMPBELL

Dianne Bentley visits local schools to donate books

By Hannah Mask
Staff Writer

Alabama’s first lady Dianne Bentley stood in front of a colorful patchwork “quilt” made from paper squares decorated by Phil Campbell second-graders as she read to the elementary students Wednesday afternoon.
The students learned Bentley used to be in a quilting guild and welcomed her by creating their own masterpiece, Principal Jackie Ergle said.
Phil Campbell Elementary was Bentley’s last of four stops made to deliver books to tornado-ravaged schools. Scholastic Publishing Company donated the 500 books she divided between Phil Campbell and Hackleburg elementary schools, along with Plainview Elementary in Rainsville and Moody Elementary in Moody.
“We just appreciate that she chose our school,” Ergle said. “It’s something our children will never forget.”
This is Bentley’s second year serving as a Scholastic Reading Ambassador, and she said it was important to donate to schools that suffered after April 27, 2011’s tornadoes.
“Last year (when I was donating), the tornadoes had just struck, and many of the schools didn’t have anywhere to store books,” Bentley said. “This year we asked whether the torn schools could receive books ... and we found four that could.”
After Bentley finished reading Alabama author Faye Gibbons’ book “Night in the Barn,” children lined up to ask questions such as what it means to be the state’s first lady and whether the Bentleys own a dog.
One third-grader wondered what Gov. Robert Bentley does every day at work.
“Right now, he’s dealing with the Legislature, which is a governing body,” Bentley explained. “They have to work back and forth to get the laws just right, which is very hard, because there are a lot of people to please.”
Bentley visited Hackleburg Elementary School earlier this week.
“Gov. Bentley and his wife have been very supportive of our school, town and community since the EF5 tornado on April 27 (2011),” said Hackleburg Elementary Principal Joan Baker.
“It’s so meaningful for us to have love and support for our school and to have (Bentley) take time out of her busy day to read to our elementary students. It means the world to us to have the opportunity to meet her.”
Hannah Mask can be reached at 256-740-5728 or hannah.mask@TimesDaily.com.

Scholastic Book Donation: Phil Campbell Elementary

Today, First Lady Dianne Bentley traveled to Phil Campbell Elementary to donate books for their school. Although minimal damage was done to the elementary school building, the lives of several students and a teacher were lost in the storm. The community is rebuilding and will forever remember what happened on April 27.

When Mrs. Bentley arrived, she was greeted by the faculty and staff standing under a hand-painted welcome sign. She visited with a first grade class then was ushered into the gym to greet all of the students. Behind the podium hung a quilt, pieced together by the school's second graders in recognition of heritage as well as the First Lady's own love for quilting. Mrs. Bentley spoke to the students, read a book, and then answered questions from the audience.

The First Lady is thankful for the hospitality she was shown and is grateful to towns like Phil Campbell who love and support one another no matter the circumstances.

Scholastic Book Donation: Hackleburg Elementary

First Lady Dianne Bentley visited Hackleburg Elementary to deliver more books from the Scholastic donation. Hackleburg was devastated by the tornadoes of last April and lost their school as well as 32 of their 33 businesses. The school is now housed in trailers connected by wooden pathways and tin roofs.
Thanks to the support of many across the state, they are able to conduct class as usual with a library, computer lab, and distributed school supplies to every student. The people are all grateful for the support and are encouraged by the generosity of Alabama.

Mrs. Bentley was happy to return to Hackleburg after a year to see the progress and plans to go back again next year as the rebuilding continues.

Scholastic Book Donation: Plainview Elementary

Scholastic donated another five hundred books to First Lady Dianne Bentley for distribution in the state of Alabama. Mrs. Bentley decided to divide these books to schools affected by the tornadoes of April 27, 2011, in an effort to support the continued recovery efforts.

Today was the first day of donation events and she traveled to Plainview Elementary in Rainsville, Alabama. While there she was greeted by the faculty, staff, and students. She had the opportunity to read to some of the top readers at the school as well as meet with individual classrooms. Mrs. Hall's second grade class asked great questions and ended their visit with Alabama's First Lady by each giving her a hug good-bye.

Mrs. Bentley was blessed by everyone she met and was encouraged by all that they had done to recover from the storm disaster. She hopes to return to the school next year to see the completed buildings and show her support to the area.