CHARLESTON, W.Va., June 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- West
Virginians are pulling together to help their neighbors whose
communities have been ravaged by the recent flooding, and AT&T
and its employees are pitching in to help.
AT&T is contributing $15,000
to the West Virginia National Guard Foundation and $5,000 to the Facing Hunger Foodbank to help with
clean-up and recovery efforts.
On Friday, July 1, AT&T
employees from the DIRECTV facility in Huntington also are volunteering to help the
Facing Hunger Foodbank unpack a tractor trailer full of food,
cleaning supplies and other goods at a staging area in Belle, WV.
The Women of AT&T DC/VA Chapter, an AT&T employee
resource group, donated blankets to VFW Post 3522 in Charles Town, WV. The post will
deliver the blankets and other items to the affected areas.
And, AT&T customers who want to donate to the American Red
Cross Disaster Relief fund can do so by texting WVFLOODS to
90999 to give $10 to
American Red Cross Disaster Relief, which helps people affected by
disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires and
tornadoes.*
"We want to help people stay connected to family and loved ones
in the aftermath of these terrible floods and help them get back on
their feet as quickly as possible," said J.
Michael Schweder, president, AT&T Mid-Atlantic.
In addition to the financial contributions and the volunteer
activities, the company and its employees have worked to help our
customers, emergency responders and local communities recover from
this disaster. Activities have included:
- Network Disaster Recovery Team: AT&T crews and a Network
Disaster Recovery (NDR) team activated disaster recovery equipment
to provide wireless communications in the area until full
restoration is complete. The company set up a mini Satellite Cell
On Light Truck (COLT) in Clendenin,
WV, to provide additional cellular coverage for first
responders at the mobile command center. Once communications
were normalized in the area, the NDR team moved the COLT to another
location in Greenbrier County to
support a command center there.
- Charging Stations and Chargers: AT&T set up charging
stations in Clendenin and
Maxwelton, and provided chargers
to help the Rupert Volunteer Fire
Department stay powered up and connected. Charging stations also
were set up in Rainelle and
Elkview, where the company set up
a tent to help affected residents stay in touch with their loved
ones. The tent, which went up last Saturday, provided
residents with access to phones and tablets. AT&T also
opened up our stores statewide for West Virginians who are without
power and need to charge devices.
- Late Payment Support: Service suspensions, outbound collections
calls, and texts to consumers about late payments will be postponed
until further notice for customers in affected areas.
- Employee Support: AT&T employees who live in Greenbrier, Kanawha and Nicholas counties, will be contacted and
offered assistance from the Employee Disaster Relief Fund and the
Pioneers Disaster Relief Fund.
Andy Feeney, AT&T's regional
vice president for External Affairs in West Virginia added: "I've visited some
of the communities and have seen the devastation – and West
Virginians' resiliency – up close. We will continue to do what we
can to help our neighbors in need."
AT&T is the first private sector company to receive
certification under the Department of Homeland Security's Private
Sector Preparedness, or PS-Prep, program. PS-Prep certification
validates that AT&T is able to maintain or recover its own
business operations in the face of an emergency or disaster,
whether natural, man-made, or cyber in nature.
With $600 million invested in the
Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) program, AT&T has one of the
nation's largest and most advanced disaster recovery programs.
*Customers who donate will see charges on their
wireless bill, or deducted from their prepaid balance. All
purchases must be authorized by account holder. Must be 18 years of
age or have parental permission to participate. Message and Data
Rates May Apply. Text STOP to 90999 to STOP. Text HELP to 90999 for
HELP. Full Terms: www.mGive.org/T. Privacy
Policy: www.mGive.org/P.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions
around the globe connect with leading entertainment, mobile, high
speed internet and voice services. We're the world's largest
provider of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin
American countries. We offer the best global coverage of any U.S.
wireless provider. And we help businesses worldwide serve their
customers better with our mobility and highly secure cloud
solutions.
About Philanthropy & Social Innovation at
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is committed to advancing education,
strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its
community initiatives, AT&T has a long history of investing in
projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and
economic achievement; or address community needs. AT&T Aspire
is AT&T's signature philanthropic initiative that drives
innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear on
the issue including funding, technology, employee volunteerism, and
mentoring. Through Aspire, we've passed the $250 million mark on our plan to invest
$350 million in education from
2008-2017.
Additional information about AT&T products and services is
available at http://about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at
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