Sisters of Providence team with Verizon HopeLine

The Sisters of Providence recently joined an effort with Verizon HopeLine to prevent domestic abuse.

Sister Donna Butler said this is the first year the Sisters of Providence joined the phone company’s efforts to prevent domestic abuse.

As a result, donation boxes were placed in buildings of Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, located 10 minutes northwest of downtown Terre Haute, Ind., for wireless phones to be placed in through Feb. 12.

Phones of any service provider, along with the battery and charger, are to be placed in plastic bags and then in the boxes.

Boxes have been placed at Providence Hall, Owens Hall phone room, Providence Hall phone room, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Day Care and Rooney Library at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.

The Verizon project, HopeLine, has existed since 2001. It takes used cell phones and refurbishes them, equips them with 3,000 minutes and texting capabilities. Phones not donated to victims of domestic abuse are refurbished with additional services and sold.

The cash is then given as grants to domestic abuse organizations.

Since 2001, Verizon has collected more than 10 million phones through the program, donated 18.1 million cash grants and donated 151,000 phones to domestic abuse victims or survivors.

According to Verizon, HopeLine phones are available to survivors “affiliated with participating domestic violence agencies.”

 “Verizon contacted us because of our information on human trafficking on our website and asked if we would do this,” Sister Donna said. “We got our first phone in less than an hour after the boxes were put out!”

According to Butler, the Sisters of Providence Congregation Peace with Justice Committee is “very focused on preventing violence toward women.”

Butler added phones that cannot be refurbished for use will be recycled in an environmentally safe manner. All previous information from phones is cleared before reuse.