Inside CI: Quick Takes

Read below for some brief community updates around the country, and take the Inside CI pop quiz for a chance to win a $100 gift card.

Mentoring Comes Full Circle for Comcaster

Run in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, our Beyond School Walls program continues to be among our company’s most popular employee engagement initiatives. The program, through which student "Littles" visit Comcast "Bigs" at their offices every other week, marked its sixth year this past fall. What began in 2008 with 35 Bigs and Littles has since become the nation’s largest workplace mentoring program, with more than 300 matches at 14 Comcast offices across the country. We continue to expand Beyond School Walls because data shows that it works – our Littles are more optimistic about their future and demonstrate improved behavior in and out of the classroom. The program also has a positive effect on our employee Bigs, who report increased job satisfaction and pride in Comcast. 

One "Big" employee champion is Mike Mascaro. Growing up in a rough neighborhood, Mike looked to his own Big Brother, Tim, for guidance and support ­– and now he’s repaying that gift as a "Big" participating in Comcast’s Beyond School Walls program. Watch the video below to see how mentoring continues to make a difference in Mike’s life. 

Shining a Spotlight on Native American Communities

In 2013, Comcast launched a partnership with First Nations Development Institute, an agency that helps Native American communities gain economic and cultural self-sufficiency. Comcast’s support of First Nations is part of our outreach to a community working to maintain its heritage while struggling with economic and educational challenges. We began our partnership with a grant from the Comcast Foundation to help First Nations produce two 30-second public service announcements (PSAs), and we provided $1 million worth of airtime to broadcast the spots in select markets. Last year, in November and December alone, the PSAs were shown about 70,000 times across 13 markets. 

"This is truly a visionary gift to us," said Michael E. Roberts, First Nations president. "This grant is a huge step toward creating heightened awareness and understanding." 

Watch the PSAs below. 

Being a Good Corporate Citizen

In the fall, Comcast and NBCUniversal released our most recent Corporate Social Responsibility Report. This is the second joint report for our combined companies, and an annual snapshot of how Comcast and NBCUniversal work to strengthen connections with our customers and audiences. The report is an excellent resource to highlight our continued work on community investment, diversity, employee engagement and more. 

Click here to read our Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

Amplifying Community Investment on Social Media

We continue to find new ways to engage with our Comcast and NBCUniversal employees, partner organizations and stakeholders through social media, and these efforts are paying off. In 2013, our Community Investment Facebook fan base grew by over 22 percent, and we surpassed 4,000 Twitter followers. One recent effort was our support of Giving Tuesday, a national grassroots campaign to encourage individuals to make a donation to their charity of choice on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. We tweeted regularly throughout the day, highlighting facts about our national partners and signature programs. Here’s what National Urban League had to say in response – sharing with their 23,000+ followers:

Join us in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. 

Comcast Cares Day: Making Change Happen

Long after the last volunteer heads home, Comcast Cares Day continues to make a difference through grants provided by the Comcast Foundation. Each year, Comcast boosts the impact of our volunteers’ hard work by providing Cares Day partner organizations with matching grants. Since 2001, we have awarded $14 million in grants, including $1.7 million to about 660 organizations in 2013. 

Save the date for next year’s Comcast Cares Day ­– April 26, 2014 – and help make change happen!

Inside CI Pop Quiz

Last October’s Comcast United Way campaign was a record-breaker, with nearly $6.4 million in pledges and 53 percent employee participation. To help spread the word about our campaign, we designed posters for display in Comcast and NBCUniversal offices nationwide. How many do you think were printed?  

A. 300
B. 3,725
C. 12,050
D. 31,025

Please email your response to comcast_inthecommunity@cable.comcast.com and note "Inside CI Pop Quiz" in the subject line. Correct responses will be entered in a drawing to win a $100 gift card. Only Comcast and NBCUniversal employees are eligible to win. Entries must be received by 5 p.m., EST, on Feb. 7, 2014.