Comcast Cares: A Year-Round Commitment to Service

Comcast Cares Day is a celebration of our company’s commitment to giving back each and every day of the year.

On April 21, more than 100,000 Comcast NBCUniversal employees and their families, friends, and community partners participated in what has become the nation’s largest single-day corporate volunteer effort.  And on that day, we surpassed one million people who have participated in the annual day of service since its inception in 2001 as volunteers take part in community improvement projects in about 20 countries around the world, including England and the Netherlands. 

These projects included revitalizing neighborhood parks and schools, teaching digital literacy and jobs skills, assembling care packages for U.S. military service members and veterans, and a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant about 1,000 trees in areas of California, Florida, and Texas impacted by last year’s wildfires and hurricanes. 

Comcast Cares Day also reminds us how important giving back where our employees live and work was to our founder, Ralph Roberts.  He made sure that commitment was a core value at Comcast—so to us, supporting employee volunteerism is just who we are. Our employees are passionate about doing good in our communities.  They serve on boards, roll up their sleeves and volunteer, mentor, use their professional skills to help nonprofit organizations achieve their goals, and much more.  One of our most popular programs is the opportunity we provide our employees to mentor students through our partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.  The program matches Comcast employees with students from nearby schools for regular meetings at our offices across the country, matching thousands of students over the years with positive role models and exposing them to professional environments and potential new career paths. 

Another way we make an impact on the communities we serve is through our Internet Essentials program, which helps to connect low-income families to the power of the Internet at home. 

Right now, more than 25 percent of households in the United States don’t have home Internet access, making these families increasingly marginalized – and falling even further behind.  That’s why we created Internet Essentials – to try to level the digital playing field.  More than 2,200 Comcast employees participate as Internet Essentials ambassadors, making sure the families who can most benefit from Internet Essentials are aware of the program and helping them sign up.   

We also support entrepreneurs’ who drive social change, like Felecia Hatcher of Code Fever, who helps drive innovation in underserved communities, and Rey Faustino of One Degree, who uses technology to help connect families in need to critical social services. We’re also providing access to innovative technology through programs like My.Future in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which puts cutting-edge technology in the hands of Club kids to teach them digital skills that will serve them well in school and in the workforce. And through our work with Easterseals and The Arc, we’re providing enhanced assistive technologies and digital access to improve the lives of people with disabilities. 

Many of our partnerships span nationally, but we are a local company at heart—and our approach to giving back reflects that. Throughout the year, our employees work alongside our neighbors, addressing the specific needs in their communities. We are also proud to come together as a company to support the work in communities served by United Way. Last year, together with our employees, we donated $10 million to United Way, which went to organizations around the country. 

With Comcast Cares Day 2018 now over, Comcast NBCUniversal employees will look back at the impact that we made on our communities with pride.  And we know that tomorrow, we will be just as passionate about our year-round efforts to improve the communities where we live and work. 

If you would like to learn more about our commitment to community, please see the most recent Corporate Social Responsibility Report.