The paint has dried and the seedlings have taken root – and I have some exciting news to share. 

Not only did we achieve our goal of mobilizing tens of thousands of volunteers during Comcast Cares Day in April – we smashed our company record. During our annual celebration of service, 95,000 Comcast and NBCUniversal volunteers came together to make change happen at more than 820 project sites around the globe. 

Our employees, along with their friends and families, joined our local nonprofit partners to clean parks, remove graffiti, pick up trash, stock food banks, and revitalize schools, among other projects. In all, about 10,000 more volunteers than last year participated in what we believe to be the largest single-day corporate volunteer event in the country. 

Some highlights of this year’s celebration of service include:

  • One out of every eight Comcast Cares Day projects occurred at a neighborhood school, with the goal of improving the school environment to encourage students to pursue their education with enthusiasm. 

  • We hosted our projects in partnership with hundreds of non-profit organizations, including City Year, which turned out 600-plus Corps members to volunteer side-by-side with us in, among other cities, London, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and Boys & Girls Clubs, where we worked with more than 65 Clubs across the country.

  • One out of every five of our volunteers was under the age of 18, reinforcing how Comcast Cares Day is a family affair and a great way to teach young people the importance of giving back at an early age.

  • We more than doubled the number of countries served this year, hosting projects across the United States and in 14 additional countries around the globe, including India, Spain and New Zealand.

  • Working together, we donated 570,000 hours of service to our communities.

 It is hard to imagine that a tradition that started in 2001 with about 6,100 volunteers in our Philadelphia hometown has grown to this unbelievable scale. But once you see one of our projects in action, you begin to understand why.

Watch the video above to see the impact at three of this year’s projects, including in Nashville, where I was lucky to spend part of Comcast Cares Day at Jere Baxter Middle School with more than 550 volunteers whose passion for the community is palpable.  

I couldn’t be more proud of our entire team for making change happen on Comcast Cares Day – and I’m excited to see what we will do together for the next Comcast Cares Day on April 25, 2015. Mark your calendars!

Photo: Charisse R. Lillie was among hundreds of volunteers at a Nashville middle school during Comcast Cares Day 2014.