2022 Donations Focused on Hurricane Relief, Autism Support and Community Outreach
BOCA RATON, FL – March 9, 2023 – Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC ("Vertical Bridge") the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure in the United States, today announced that it has surpassed $9.5 million in cash donations and 5,100 hours of volunteer time since launching its employee-managed community philanthropy program, Vertical Bridge Charitable Network ("VBCN"), in 2014.
In 2022, VBCN gave more than $2 million to over 145 organizations, including $125,000 to Hurricane Ian relief efforts, $140,000 to Music Movement to support children and young adults with autism, and over $100,000 to Habitat for Humanity. VBCN also partnered with DonorsChoose.org, providing employees the opportunity to donate more than $50,000 to school projects of their choice.
"Giving back to the communities where we live and work has always been one of Vertical Bridge's core values," said President and COO, Ron Bizick. "We're proud of our employees' continuing commitment to drive these efforts and empower them to support causes that are important to them and their community."
VBCN held its first annual National Volunteer Week in April 2022, giving employees a chance to choose from a number of volunteer opportunities. The team also joined together to help feed individuals and families by volunteering with Meals of Hope and Empty Bowls of Naples during the company's all-employee meeting in July.
"In September 2022, Hurricane Ian hit our home state of Florida unbelievably hard, and VBCN immediately took action to assist with recovery efforts," said CEO and Co-Founder, Alex Gellman. "We are committed to continuing our community outreach to support those impacted. When there's a need, our team will always step up to help."
To help alleviate the devastation in Florida from these storms, VBCN added several non-profits to its recipient's list, including World Central Kitchen, Farm Share Inc., YMCA of Englewood and the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida.
VBCN also has long supported many other non-profits, including Warriors4Wireless, Tower Family Foundation, South Florida Audubon Society, and DigDeep, which brings clean running water to families in the Navajo Nation. Since its inception, VBCN has donated time and money to more than 740 meaningful causes.
About Vertical Bridge
Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC is the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure and locations in the United States, with a portfolio of more than 500,000 sites, including over 11,000 owned and master-leased towers and the nation’s largest and tallest collection of broadcast tower sites. The Company’s portfolio spreads across all 50 states and Puerto Rico and is comprised of towers, rooftops, billboards, utility attachments, convenience stores and other locations in support of wireless network deployments. In addition to colocation, Vertical Bridge offers build-to-suit, edge data centers and in-building wireless network solutions.
Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Vertical Bridge was founded in 2014 and is led by a senior management team with over 400 years of collective experience in tower infrastructure and related sectors. Vertical Bridge became the first tower company in the world to achieve the CarbonNeutral® company certified status in 2020 and has been recertified every year since. For more information, please visit www.verticalbridge.com.