GrandCentral welcomes
Pac-West Telecomm as newest Project CARE partner
Companies provide free local phone numbers and
voice mailboxes to homeless
June 9, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO GrandCentral,
an emerging personal communications company, today announced it
is partnering with Pac-West Telecomm, Inc., a leading provider
of traditional and next-generation voice communications services,
to provide free local phone numbers and voice mailboxes to thousands
of homeless and those in need. Launching its partnership at todays
Project Homeless Connect event in San Francisco, GrandCentral
and Pac-West are committed to helping the homeless improve their
quality of life by offering those who find themselves displaced
from their homes a way to stay connected while they rebuild their
lives.
Pac-West
is a strategic partner in GrandCentrals Project CARE (Communications
And Respect for Everybody) initiative. This pilot program, first
launched in April 2006, offers those in need a permanent local
phone number and voice mailbox, free of charge. To date, the company
has signed up 354 homeless clients with free local phone numbers
and voice mailboxes. In this time, more than 3,000 voicemails
have been received by those who previously had no means of communication.
As part of this program, Pac-West will contribute personal, local
phone numbers per market to qualified clients.
We are pleased to be participating in an initiative as
worthy as Project CARE, said Hank Carabelli, president and
CEO at Pac-West Telecomm. Working with GrandCentral to provide
phone services to those in need provides an excellent opportunity
for Pac-West to be able to give back to the community.
We launched Project CARE two months ago and usage has really
taken off. Our subscribers leave us voicemail messages daily thanking
us for the service and telling us how Project CARE has helped
them stay connected with potential employers, friends and family,
and their doctors, said Craig Walker, CEO of GrandCentral.
We started Project CARE to help those in need reconnect
with society and get back on their feet. With the help of leading
companies like Pac-West, we will be able to continue to aid San
Franciscos homeless and expand on a national level.
Working with support agencies such as the American Red Cross
Bay Area Chapter, the Bar Association of San Francisco, the Hamilton
Family Center, La Casa de las Madres, North Beach Citizens, the
Riley Center, San Francisco Veterans Administration Downtown
Clinic and the South of Market Health Center, Project CARE offers
those in need of both short- and long-term communication links
to the real world. For more information about Project CARE, email
us at projectcare@grandcentral.com.
About Pac-West Telecomm, Inc.
Pac-West is a provider of advanced communications services that
enable traditional and next-generation providers, carriers, and
service providers to efficiently design, deploy, and deliver integrated
communication solutions. Currently, Pac-West has operations in
California, Nevada, Washington, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Idaho,
Washington, D.C. and Colorado. Founded in 1980, Pac-West Telecomm,
Inc. has been offering communication services to its customers
since 1982 and has been a leading provider of wholesale services
to Internet Service Providers. For more information, visit www.pacwest.com.
About GrandCentral
GrandCentral is a privately-held, emerging personal communications
company. A GrandCentral community initiative, Project CARE (Communications
And Respect for Everybody) provides free local phone numbers and
voicemail to those without access to a traditional phone number.
Project CARE provides these services at no charge and will save
the voicemail messages for life. GrandCentral launched a pilot
version of Project CARE in San Francisco in April 2006. For more
information about Project CARE, email us at projectcare@grandcentral.com.
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