Comcast and NBCUniversal ‘Make Change Happen’ in Communities Around the World on 12th Comcast Cares Day

April 23, 2013 /3BL Media/ - More than 70,000 Comcast and NBCUniversal employees, their family and friends, and community partners across the country are expected to spend Saturday, April 27, giving back to their communities as they take part in Comcast Cares Day, the nation’s largest single-day corporate volunteer effort. In its 12^th year, Comcast Cares Day will also go international for the first time with NBCUniversal managing projects in England, France, Germany and New Zealand. This year will also mark more than 3 million volunteer hours and half a million volunteers since Comcast Cares Day first began in 2001. 

“Comcast Cares Day speaks to the heart of our company,” said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Comcast Corporation. “As we celebrate Comcast’s 50^th anniversary, I am extremely honored to participate this year alongside tens of thousands of Comcast and NBCUniversal employees, their family members and friends across the country and around the world to make a meaningful difference that will have a lasting impact on the communities we serve.”

During this year’s Comcast Cares Day, more than 700 projects will take place across the country and internationally, including projects in communities where Comcast and NBCUniversal employees work together, including New York City and Los Angeles.

“Comcast Cares Day is a great example of Comcast and NBCUniversal’s unwavering dedication to the communities we serve,” said David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President, Comcast Corporation. “People across the country will experience firsthand Comcast’s commitment to their neighborhoods, which extends beyond this day and throughout the year. Giving back is in our DNA, and we celebrate all of our community partners and employees who continuously strive to improve the lives of others.”

On Saturday, volunteers will contribute their time and energy by providing maintenance, supplies and makeovers to local schools, parks and community centers. Comcast Cares Day is also taking place during Earth Week, which is widely supported by NBCUniversal’s Green is Universal initiative. Many planet-friendly projects such as building community gardens, cleaning beaches and riverbanks, and planting trees will add to the diverse line-up of projects.

Comcast and NBCUniversal also have partnered with many non-profit community organizations and local chapters of the National Urban League and the National Council of La Raza, who will be working side by side with Comcast Cares Day volunteers on Saturday. Additionally, teams from Comcast and NBCUniversal will be partnering with City Year, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Boys and Girls Clubs of America, along with hundreds of other local community organizations.

Below is a sampling of the multiple projects taking place:

• Grand Rapids, MI (Hispanic Center of West Michigan) – Approximately 100 volunteers will be packaging, sorting and distributing food for needy families in Grand Rapids.

• Highlands, NJ – Highlands is a 1.5 square mile, working-class borough in Monmouth County, NJ. Like many coastal communities in NJ, Hurricane Sandy ravaged the community. Comcast Cares Day projects in Highlands will include 250 volunteers working on a community-wide cleanup, restoration of two community parks, boardwalk repairs, a beach cleanup and helping residents with a variety of projects as they prepare to move back into their homes. 

• London, UK (Thames River Clean Up) – Approximately 100 NBCUniversal volunteers will clear rubbish from the river and riverbank, clear dense area of scrub, plant marginal plants and sow a native seed mix. Volunteers will also help by weeding, clearing trash and providing environmental enhancements.

• Los Angeles, CA (Barack Obama Preparatory Academy) – Approximately 500 NBCUniversal volunteers will partner with City Year Los Angeles and the American Heart Association Teaching Gardens program to help beautify the school. Employees, friends and families will build and plant a real-life learning laboratory for students to learn what it means to be healthy. Volunteers will also paint educational and college-themed murals to transform the school into an exciting place for students to learn and encourage them to think about the possibilities for their future.

• New York, NY (Revitalize Riverside Park) – Approximately 150 NBCUniversal volunteers will help beautify sections of Riverside Park by completing a hillside erosion control project, removing invasive species, planting native ground cover and flowers, and performing a variety of much-needed tasks to prepare Riverside Park for the busy spring and summer seasons.

• Philadelphia, PA (Furness High School) – More than 250 volunteers will beautify the school by making minor repairs, painting, removing litter and doing general clean-up activities to the building and property. 

• Seattle, WA (Labateyah Youth Home) – Approximately 250 volunteers will build-out an existing computer room to become the “Comcast Tech Lounge at Labateyah.”  The Tech Lounge will include new monitors, keyboards, desks, chairs and fresh paint. In addition to this signature project, other volunteers will work to paint, clean-up trash, install new flooring and shelving, spread bark, plant gardens and help with art projects to properly tell the story of the building and the heritage of its residents.

• Hamburg, Germany (Children´s Hospice Sternenbrücke) – Approximately 20 NBCUniversal volunteers will be beautifying the grounds by cleaning garden furniture, planting flowers, raking and digging.

Comcast and NBCUniversal support the communities they serve by volunteering, providing access to innovative technology, giving financial support and partnering with organizations to make communities stronger. Comcast invests in programs and nonprofits that address our priorities: digital literacy, youth leadership development and community service. Since 2001, Comcast’s overall giving has exceeded $2.5 billion in cash and in-kind contributions supporting local non-profit organizations and other charitable partners across the country.

About the Comcast Foundation
The Comcast Foundation was founded by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified non-profit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities. The Foundation has three community investment priorities — promoting service, expanding digital literacy, and building tomorrow’s leaders. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $123 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/community.

About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal.  Comcast Cable is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses.  NBCUniversal operates 30 news and entertainment cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts.  Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

About NBCUniversal:
NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks.