At Comcast and NBCUniversal, empowering people through technology is what drives our Community Investment strategy, and today I’m particularly excited to announce two new and unique partnerships we have launched to help more individuals and families conquer the digital divide.
First, over the next two years, we’ll be working with LIFT, a national nonprofit focused on lifting families out of poverty for good, to create the Comcast and NBCUniversal Digital Literacy Learning Hubs in four cities: Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. These hubs will help at least 13,000 low-income adults improve their technology skills and access important resources, such as online job applications, public benefits and financial education. This $1.3 million partnership also includes the donation of television airtime to help raise awareness of LIFT and its efforts to combat poverty and create opportunity.
Second, we are also working with The Arc, an advocate for the rights of the disabilities community, over the next three years to expand digital education for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through $3.73 million in support, The Arc will design an online resource center for cataloguing and rating apps, software and other digital resources to help the disabilities community find solutions to meet their specialized needs. The partnership will enable The Arc to establish up to 12 Comcast and NBCUniversal Digital Literacy Learning Labs in major cities across the country to improve technology access and services. We’ll also raise awareness of The Arc through a donation of airtime to run public service announcements on our broadcast and digital platforms.
By forging partnerships like these with LIFT and The Arc, it is our goal to continue to bring technology, and the doors it opens, to populations that are all too often left outside the digital mainstream. Doing so reflects our commitment to bringing the best of what’s next to the all of the communities we serve.
I invite you to learn a little bit more about how Comcast and NBCUniversal make a difference in our communities by clicking "Watch Video" above.