PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Boys & Girls Clubs across the nation are receiving $5,000 Club Tech Impact grants from the Comcast Foundation to boost their digital literacy and computer training programs as part of Comcast’s $50 million commitment to the Club Tech program at Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). The $200,000 commitment will go to 40 Clubs – 20 grants in the spring and 20 more in the fall,
The funds will be used to support Club Tech, the digital literacy initiative Comcast co-sponsors with Microsoft that provides youth and teens with access to technology software, program materials and digital training. The program also incorporates technology into the Clubs’ operations and management tools, creating a long-term development plan for the Clubs and their future members.
“The Club Tech program aligns perfectly with one of Comcast’s key community initiatives: taking aim at the digital divide by making digital literacy and computer training available where it is needed most,” Charisse Lillie, President of the Comcast Foundation, said. “We are happy to join Microsoft in support of these efforts at Boy & Girls Clubs across the country.”
In 2010, Comcast joined founding sponsor Microsoft as a national sponsor of the Club Tech program and by the end of 2013 will have provided approximately $50 million of financial and in-kind support to BGCA and local Clubs across the country. Since 2010, Comcast provided more than $2 million to nearly 200 local Clubs along with $18.5 million of in-kind support in the form of PSA airtime and donated products.
In addition to its support for the BGCA's Club Tech program, Comcast has donated computers to create labs in many of the Clubs and has also provided key grants and financial support to other BGCA initiatives and events.
“The support we receive for Club Tech has allowed Boys & Girls Clubs across the country to provide youth with digital access and opportunities that may not otherwise be available at school or at home,” said Dan Rauzi, senior director of technology programs at BGCA. “Along with Microsoft, Comcast support allows our Clubs and the young people we serve to enhance technology skills necessary for a successful future.”
So far, nearly one million young people have been served through the Club Tech programs and given access to its resources. In 2011, BGCA, in partnership with Microsoft and Comcast, launched Faces of the Future, an online campaign that features Club Tech participants and promotes the value of providing technology access and opportunities to youth.
Club Tech is just one of the digital initiatives Comcast has undertaken to address the Digital Divide and the need to provide better broadband access to more low-income Americans. Comcast believes digital literacy powers the dreams of opportunity, and is an essential step on the pathway to information and success.
- Last summer, Comcast launched Internet Essentials, the ambitious broadband adoption program which provides low-income families access to deeply discounted Internet service as well as a low-cost computer and free digital literacy training.
- Comcast also partners with One Economy on its signature Comcast Digital Connectors program, which trains teens and young adults to use broadband and digital tools and to prepare for potential careers in digital media. In turn, the Digital Connectors use their new-found knowledge to help spread digital literacy throughout their neighborhoods.
About the Comcast Foundation
The Comcast Foundation was founded by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified non-profit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities. The Foundation has three community investment priorities – promoting community service, expanding digital literacy and building tomorrow’s leaders. Since its inception the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $90 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/neighborhood. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/community.
About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, nearly 4,000 Boys & Girls Clubs serve some 4 million children and teens through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native American lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. Clubs provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at bgca.org/facebook and bgca.org/twitter.