LYNNWOOD, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Comcast today announced that the company has invested nearly $6 million in nonprofit organizations in Washington state over the last year. These contributions come in the form of program and event contributions, scholarships, foundation grants, employee giving campaigns, broadcast services, courtesy services, technology and equipment, and more. Additionally, the company’s 4,800 employees throughout the state donated more than 23,000 volunteer hours across nearly 60 projects. Comcast’s 2018 charitable investments and employee volunteer efforts helped grow important local programs, support groups of people and community organizations, expand access to technology, and develop digital skills and literacy programs statewide.
“As a business, we employ and serve thousands of Washingtonians, and that commitment doesn’t stop with a paycheck or a business transaction,” said Amy Lynch, Region Vice President, Comcast Washington. “We enjoy partnering with groups and nonprofits to find out what we can do together to make a lasting impact on the lives of each person, community or organization we touch. Our team is looking forward to supporting the robust list of organizations we are partnering with in 2019.”
Comcast is committed to several corporate social responsibility priorities, some of which include Digital Inclusion, Volunteerism & Services, Accessibility, Military Engagement, Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Skills for the Digital Economy. The company supported the following Washington state nonprofits and community groups this year to address each one:
Digital Inclusion
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El Centro de la Raza: Comcast has supported El Centro de la
Raza’s Digital Engagement Initiative for several years. This comes in
the form of support for public Wi-Fi for the center and its community,
digital naturalization classes, “Young Adults in Tech” training
courses, and more. The company announced an additional $80,000 digital
inclusion grant for the center that will go towards extending funding
for this program and other technology projects at the community center.
“Gracias to Comcast for helping us provide digital literacy and technology training to youth with barriers to entry in the employment system! We are eternally grateful for your commitment to increasing access to living wage jobs in a high-demand industry for communities of color,” said Estela Ortega, Executive Director, El Centro de la Raza.
- The Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS): Comcast supported ACRS through its Comcast Digital Inclusion Initiative for the second year in a row. Supplementing ACRS’ wrap around services, The Digital Inclusion Initiative helps bridge the digital divide with Limited-English-Proficiency (LEP) computer classes to increase computer and Internet skills necessary to secure, maintain or advance in employment, and increase personal access to computers and the Internet. Comcast gave $45,000 in grants and technology resources to grow this program year-over-year.
Skills for the Digital Economy
- Mary’s Place: Through a $250,000 and in-kind contributions, Comcast is supporting technology resources, job readiness and digital skills training courses for women and families at Mary’s Place emergency family shelters. The company also provided Mary’s Place with internet connectivity and technology to equip shelters with needed resources to help residents move into stable housing. Lastly, Comcast’s employees collected more than 50 bags of warm winter clothing for the women and families at Mary’s Place shelters.
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Seattle Goodwill: For the past five years, Comcast has
supported Seattle Goodwill’s free job training and education program
for Puget Sound residents with socio-economic barriers. This
year they partnered to launch the new Comcast/Seattle Goodwill
Workforce Development Program offering job training opportunities for
members of the community. Comcast also donated an additional $50,000
to build on this pilot program and scale it across Washington state,
in partnership with Seattle Goodwill’s sister organizations in Spokane
and Tacoma.
“Seattle Goodwill and Comcast own a shared commitment to improve our community. For more than eight years, Comcast and Goodwill have partnered to provide opportunity and independence through jobs,” said Daryl Campbell, CEO, Seattle Goodwill.
- Technology Access Foundation (TAF): Comcast Washington and TAF partnered for the second year in a row on the Comcast NBCUniversal Innovation Challenge. This Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) focused program brings together 20 students with mentors from Comcast to create real-world solutions to homelessness, using the power of telecommunications and technology. The Innovation Challenge program gets students more involved with STEM education and culminates with a pitch-off in front of judges, media and other influencers from the technology community. Members of the winning team received $1,000 in college scholarships. The final competition for this year’s class is taking place in January of 2019.
Diversity & Inclusion
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Special Olympics USA Games & Special Olympics Washington: To
support this year’s national games in Seattle, Comcast contributed
nearly $1.4 million in cash and in-kind contributions. These in-kind
contributions included being a local and national broadcast partner to
promote the Olympic events, as well as highlight the local athletes
from across the state in the Washington market. Additionally, Comcast
also hosted celebrity appearances with local athletes in their stores
in Western Washington and promoted the Olympians and their story in
marketing and media channels.
“Special Olympics Washington is excited that Comcast continues to support growth and change in the ways we support and provide programming for our athletes and the communities where they live,” said Dave Lenox, CEO, Special Olympics of Washington. “While Comcast has been a supporter of Special Olympics Washington for more than 2 decades, they continue to support our initiatives focused on innovation, inclusion, acceptance, and respect. The best part of the partnership is that it encompasses both corporate support and Comcast employee volunteering at our events.”
Military Engagement
- Bunker Labs Seattle: The Company continued its partnership with its national veterans entrepreneur partner, Bunker Labs. Comcast announced $40,000 in funding to support the annual Bunker Labs Muster Conference for veteran entrepreneurs and establish the first ever Bunker Labs Digital Boot Camps, being exclusively piloted in the Seattle area. The Digital Boot Camps will kick-off in early 2019 and cover topical issues that help improve digital literacy of veteran entrepreneurs. The workshop includes important business topics like securing intellectual property, leveraging social media for business and integrating technology into your overall business to meet consumer demands.
Volunteerism & Services
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Snohomish County: This year, 25 Comcast employees at the company’s Lynnwood offices engaged in the program, serving as “Bigs” to youth from nearby Woodside Elementary. These employees worked to create bonding and educational activities for their “littles” throughout the year. Further, the company donated $30,000 to support the organizations activities in Snohomish County.
In addition to these groups, Comcast supported Ada Developer Academy, Boys and Girls Clubs of Snohomish County, Chief Seattle Club, Compass Housing Alliance, Hive Media Lab, Crosscut Media, the Seattle Pride Parade, Easter Seals Washington, Greater Seattle Business Association, Hack Nation, Seattle City Club, Social Venture Partners, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, YWCA of Olympia, Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA), and more.
Comcast Cares Day, the company’s annually scheduled day of employee volunteerism and giving, brought together more than 3,000 employees across Washington state to support local community-based organizations and nonprofits. In 2018, Comcast Washington employees put in more than 20,000 volunteer hours across 12 different projects statewide.
For more information on Comcast’s Community Impact program, visit https://corporate.comcast.com/values/community-impact.
About Comcast
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation’s largest video, high-speed Internet, 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 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. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
