Working Together to Build Stronger Communities
Originally published on Comcast
At Comcast, we’re not afraid to tackle some of society’s toughest challenges. All year long, our passionate employees and incredible nonprofit partners collaborate to create opportunities for more individuals and communities to thrive. Together, we’re removing barriers to success so everyone can live up to his or her fullest potential.
As a new year begins, we reflect below on some of the people and partners from 2019 who illustrate the positive difference we continue to try to make in the lives of millions of people every day.
Expanding Internet Essentials to more people than ever
The Internet is arguably the biggest technological innovation in history. At Comcast, we are committed to making sure it is within everyone’s reach. In large part, we do this by increasing technology access and investing in digital literacy, awareness, and training. What’s more, in 2019, we announced the largest ever expansion of our Internet Essentials program, which has now connected more than 8 million people to low-cost, high-speed Internet at home, most for the very first time. Among those now connected is Franklin James, of Spokane, Washington. Franklin receives support from a community nonprofit, Goodwill Industries, which helps people with disabilities find employment through job training. One of our thousands of vital community partners, Goodwill Industries helped Franklin complete an IT support professional certification program, which led to a job for him with Bank of America.
Helping young people to gain more digital skills
Every year, we demonstrate our belief in the value of service by investing in City Year and the young people who commit a year to helping students in our most challenged neighborhoods. We are also focused on helping these students build digital skills that are increasingly vital to their career success. One of the City Year AmeriCorps members leading the way this year is Julie Cusano, one of hundreds of young people who are serving on Comcast NBCUniversal-sponsored teams and collectively volunteered more than 200,000 hours last school year helping children. Currently based in Manchester, N.H., Julie and her Comcast-sponsored City Year team brought the FIRST LEGO League robotics program to their school. The year-long program introduced students at Northwest Elementary School to coding and how those skills are used in different jobs. Following the success of the program, she saw an opportunity to expand it to her fourth and fifth grade students, which led to a weekly “Hour of Code Club.” Through the coding club, Julie helped the school add more than 90 hours of additional coding experiences in just a few months.
Connecting future leaders to opportunities in tech
Through a competitive grant program called Project Innovation, NBCUniversal is addressing local community issues by advancing innovative solutions in the areas of storytelling, community engagement, culture of inclusion, and youth education. In 2019, the NBCUniversal Foundation awarded $2.5 million through the program to nonprofits in 11 NBC and Telemundo owned television station cities. One of those nonprofits is Miami’s Urgent Inc., which is using the grant to bolster a program that teaches teenagers about careers in creative and tech industries. The goal is to help give students a competitive advantage and, ultimately, to break out of poverty. Among those teenagers is Martin Eugene, whose time as a Media Arts intern working alongside film editors allowed him to break out of his shell and learn about potential career paths such as being a videographer or a producer.
Providing exposure to technology through mentorship
Mentorship is a common thread throughout our employee volunteer efforts. From pairing employee “Bigs” with student “Littles” through our Big Brothers Big Sisters Beyond School Walls program, to partnering with tech-focused nonprofits to create more digital skills exposure. Alexander Rivera, a software engineer for Comcast’s Xfinity Home, was the first to sign up for the Student Experience in partnership with CS4Philly, a Philadelphia-based organization dedicated to providing students with access to high-quality computer science education. Alexander, who struggled after high-school to find his path toward a career in tech, knows first-hand that with the right resources and support, a world of possibilities can help open up a young person’s mind. Along with 20 other Comcast volunteer mentors, Alexander spent the day with 100 high school students to help them find inspiration in activities such as Javascript Pong and Data Fun that taught them all about how to analyze sports statistics.
Helping communities thrive through our Employee Giving Campaign
Our employees are passionate about making a positive difference in their communities. Whether it’s by volunteering, serving on nonprofit boards, or donating to causes important to them through our annual Employee Giving Campaign. Michael Hewitt, an Atlanta-based operations and engineering leader at Comcast, is committed to helping homeless youth as a board member of Covenant House Georgia. Those youth include Jordan, who grew up in an abusive home, and Nacole, whose parents told her to leave when she told them she was gay. Determined to help young people like Jordan and Nacole, last fall Michael stepped up to help drive the success of our Employee Giving Campaign, which generated $10 million that will support more than 8,000 nonprofit organizations all across the country.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq:CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States' largest high-speed internet, video, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
