Community Impact
Honoring Philadelphia's Future Leaders
Gus Amsterdam was a Philadelphia business leader, community advocate and founding board member of Comcast Corporation. He dedicated much of his time and energy to the community and to improving education. A graduate of Central High School and the University of Pennsylvania, Gus was committed to civic and educational activities in Philadelphia throughout his life. He served as Chairman of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, and on the boards of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Philadelphia Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Center, the Philadelphia Urban League, the Federation of Jewish Agencies, the University of Pennsylvania Museum, and the Franklin Institute, among others.
We established the Gustave G. Amsterdam Leadership Award in 2001 to honor Gus and the contributions he made to our corporate headquarters’ hometown. Honorees are chosen from among the Philadelphia-area finalists in the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program, which is funded through the Comcast Foundation. Each Gus Amsterdam Award recipient is awarded a one-time $5,000 scholarship grant, in lieu of the $1,000 Leaders and Achievers Scholarship, to be used toward their pursuit of higher education at a Philadelphia-area college or university. The award is presented annually at the Mayor’s Address to the Business Community Luncheon hosted by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
The 2012-13 Gus Amsterdam Leadership Award winners are Damara McDowell and Cindy Zhang, who were honored by Comcast Executive Vice President David L. Cohen and Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter at the Mayor’s address to the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Damara graduated from Freire Charter School in the top ten percent of her class. While participating in Thomas Jefferson University’s Future Docs program, she developed a passion for caring for others, which led her to volunteer with M.A.N.N.A. and Genesis Nursing Home. Now a freshman at Temple University, Damara looks forward to continuing her service to others as a nurse. Cindy Zhang graduated from Parkway Center City School, where she took four AP classes and scored a 1410 on her SATs. Between basketball and honor roll, she volunteered at the local library, assisting with a summer reading program and tutoring her fellow students. Cindy is now studying biology at Temple University.
