Community Impact
Quick Takes
What happens when you bring together 193 world leaders, Beyoncé, and Bill Nye the Science Guy? Change on a global scale.
Today, 1 million people live in extreme poverty. Their economic disadvantages are the root cause of many other inequalities – in hunger, health, and housing – that prevent them from reaching their full potential.
In an effort to level the playing field, Comcast NBCUniversal is partnering with GlobalCitizen.org, a technology platform that harnesses the power of content to end extreme poverty. In 2015, Global Citizen brought together more than 190 leaders to commit to 17 Global Goals, ranging from ending extreme poverty to fighting inequality and injustice, over the next 15 years. Comcast has committed to using our multiple platforms to help spread the word about Global Citizen to our 22 million-plus customers and through integrated programming on our networks.
To kick off our partnership, MSNBC was the exclusive broadcast partner of this year’s Global Citizen Festival, which was held Sept. 26 in Central Park and featured performances and appearances from Pearl Jam, Coldplay, and First Lady Michelle Obama. NBC also aired a one-hour special of the event.
Today’s youth are connected in more ways than ever before – from computers and smart phones, to Twitter and Instagram. But to get the most out of their digital world, kids need to recognize how they can apply those connections to careers in the 21st-century technology economy.
In November 2014, Comcast NBCUniversal joined Boys & Girls Clubs of America to launch My.Future, an innovative technology program to provide Club youth with the digital skills needed to succeed in the technology jobs of tomorrow. Comcast has supported Boys & Girls Clubs for more than a decade, and My.Future is the centerpiece of our newest partnership to expand technology opportunities for the 4 million youth Boys & Girls Clubs serve annually.
One year after its launch, My.Future is continuing to make an impact in local Clubs across the country. Youth are recording and editing their own music and videos, learning robotics, and coding their own games – all with an eye to how they can apply those new skills when they join the workforce.
Check out the video below to see how My.Future has changed the after-school experience for kids at Chicago’s Little Village Boys & Girls Club.
To help ease the financial burden associated with college – and reward exceptional young leaders – Comcast established the Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program. Since 2001, Comcast has provided more than $24 million in scholarship grants to approximately 23,000 students.
One of those students is Jordan Phelps. Jordan was in the top three percent of her graduating class at Vermont’s Springfield High School, with seven honors and AP classes under her belt. In addition to volunteering as a teacher’s aide and an elementary school basketball coach, she was captain of her basketball team, editor of the school paper, and president of the student council. In March, Jordan was among 13 other Vermont high school seniors chosen to receive Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarships. In a ceremony at the Vermont State House, Jordan received a surprise when she was awarded an additional Comcast Founders Scholarship in honor of our company’s late founder Ralph Roberts, in all boosting her college fund by $10,000.
Today, Jordan is studying education at the college of her dreams, Endicott College in Mass., with help from Comcast. She shared her gratitude for Comcast’s support in the letter below.
Students at Philadelphia’s Potter-Thomas Elementary School received a surprise in December when they gathered in their gymnasium for a visit from a few special guests. And even though they didn’t speak their language, the sense of excitement came through loud and clear as Kevin, Stuart, and Bob gave out high fives and posed for photos. The Minions visited the school in North Philadelphia, one of the city’s underserved sections, to surprise 200 students selected for their good grades and attendance, as well as "Littles" from Comcast’s workplace mentoring program, Beyond School Walls. Every other week, 55 students from the school visit their Comcast employee "Bigs" at our nearby company headquarters for one-on-one mentoring through Big Brothers Big Sisters.
The Minions handed out hats and stickers to the students before heading over to Comcast Center, where they surprised children watching the Comcast Holiday Spectacular video in the lobby.
For many of us, trees are the centerpiece of the holiday season, but trees also play a big part in our lives throughout the year. That’s why NBCUniversal once again teamed up with the Arbor Day Foundation for #GIFtATree, an annual social media campaign that spreads the word about planting trees during the holidays. This year, NBCUniversal invited fans to create festive, animated GIFs on greenisuniversal.com or use #GIFtATree on social media. For each of those actions, NBCUniversal and the Arbor Day Foundation will plant one tree, up to 25,000, in a state park or national forest, funded by a $25,000 contribution from NBCUniversal. This was the seventh year NBCUniversal harnessed the power of social media – and holiday goodwill – to help replenish our nation’s forests. Many NBCUniversal brands, including Access Hollywood and Bravo, got in on the act, creating their own festive trees in support of the campaign.
Click here to check out #GIFtATree on Twitter.
Every two weeks throughout the school year, young students meet for one-to-one mentoring with local Comcast employees at their workplace. The program, called Beyond School Walls, is the nation’s largest workplace mentoring initiative run in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters.
With the recent addition of Livermore, Calif., in how many cities does Comcast host Beyond School Walls?
A. 6
B. 12
C. 16
D. 35
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 NBCUniversal employees are eligible to win. Entries must be received by 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 19, 2016.
Send your questions, comments, and story ideas to Marcia Gelbart, senior communications director of Community Investment at Comcast, or call (215) 286-8127.