Foundation President Rose Kirk - A National Urban League Woman of Power

by: Kathryn C. Brown, senior vice president, public policy development and corporate responsibility, Verizon

I know of all the good work that’s being done by the Verizon Foundation, but it’s especially sweet when we are recognized by the community. Congratulations to Verizon Foundation President Rose Kirk! Rose was honored this past Saturday as one of the National Urban League’s 2011 Women of Power. The awards luncheon recognized eight women for their leadership and influence in civil rights, technology, entertainment, journalism, sports and the corporate sector.   NUL President Marc Morial commended Rose for Verizon Foundation’s work on education – specifically withVerizon Thinkfinity, an interactive educational platform that provides tens of thousands of free resources for use in and out of the classroom. This site contains thousands of engaging resources that make learning fun. For more than 10 years, we have helped to make the classroom a lively, innovative and interesting educational experience for students and teachers with a particular focus on schools in urban areas, working closing with the National Urban League.   At Verizon, we know Rose’s determination and her passion for leading her team to use our network to bring educational resources to everyone. Under her leadership, the Verizon Foundation has made strategic operational improvements and identified areas where our philanthropic investments can make even greater impact.   For instance, her team is currently leading an effort to deeply integrate Verizon Thinkfinity into several key demonstration schools to measure its impact on academic achievement. The Thinkfinity Community continues to grow and support teachers and parents with engaged and inspired discussion around some of today’s most critical education topics.   The Foundation isn’t just focused on educating our kids, we are pioneering a new approach to engage and empower men to live a healthy and respectful manhood, ultimately preventing domestic violence. That’s right; we’re at the forefront of bringing awareness and educating the public about domestic violence because one of our goals is to break the cycle of death and destruction caused by this under-reported and unrepentant crime.    Central to this effort is the Training Camps for Life initiative, a partnership with the NFL Players Association and A CALL TO MEN. Through Training Camps for Life, NFL players talk to teens about overcoming adversity, decisions and consequences, and healthy teen relationships. At the end of each event, attendees take the LIVERESPECT pledge, a commitment to end teen relationship abuse.   These contributions exemplify Verizon’s commitment to use our technology, financial resources, employees and partnerships to improve social issues. Through Verizon Foundation initiatives, we strive to live up to our core identity, stated in the Credo: “We are good corporate citizens and share our success with the community to make the world in which we work better than it was yesterday.”   There’s more work to be done, and we are sure that Rose and her team are up to the challenge. I am proud of their work and I’m especially pleased by NUL’s recognition of Verizon’s work.   VZN15924