WASHINGTON, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- "Telling Amy's Story," a powerful documentary on domestic violence, will air this week on public television stations in 12 cities. "Telling Amy's Story" chronicles the time leading up to the death of Amy Homan McGee, a mother of two who was shot and killed by her husband.
The documentary began airing on stations throughout the country on Tuesday (June 1). Among the stations are: KEDT, Corpus Christi, Texas, and WQED, Pittsburgh, which will air the documentary at 8 p.m. Thursday (June 3); and WYES, New Orleans, which will air the documentary at 10 p.m. (Friday) June 4.
Check local listings to confirm air times. A complete listing of stations and times is available at http://telling.psu.edu/. The documentary will also be available with Spanish-language subtitles and captioning for the hearing impaired.
"Telling Amy's Story" builds on a successful domestic violence prevention program at Pennsylvania State University. Through the program, Penn State has trained employees and students at university campuses to spot the signs of domestic violence and provide assistance to those in need. Both the training program and the documentary were funded through Verizon Foundation grants in the amount of $385,000.
'"Telling Amy's Story' is an example of Penn State Public Broadcasting's commitment to creating powerful public service media that combine compelling media with robust outreach to communities," said Ted Krichels, associate vice president for public engagement and general manager of Penn State Public Broadcasting. "This combination creates a catalyst for local discussions around a vital national issue and impact at the local level."
Amy's story is told in large part by Detective Deirdri Fishel, who is a member of a unit in the State College (Pa.) Police Department that focuses on a coordinated response to reports of domestic abuse, including participation in the review of domestic violence homicides to find out what clues were missed, or what steps could be taken to stop a similar situation.
Mariska Hargitay of NBC-TV's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation, introduces the documentary.
In the past three years, the Verizon Foundation has awarded more than $15 million to nonprofit organizations that assist domestic violence survivors.
Through the Verizon Wireless HopeLine® program more than 7 million no-longer-used wireless phones have been collected and recycled or refurbished to support domestic violence survivors, generating $8 million that has been given to local agencies since 2001.
"Raising awareness of domestic violence and aiding in its prevention is a key issue for Verizon," said Patrick Gaston, Verizon Foundation president. "Verizon is proud to partner with Penn State University and all of our partners to bring this important story and its lessons to a wider audience and to hopefully save lives."
The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational website, Verizon Thinkfinity (http://www.thinkfinity.org/), and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence. In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded $67.9 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 $26.1 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 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit http://www.verizonfoundation.org/.
Verizon Communications Inc. , 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 nearly 93 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 217,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com/.
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