Harford County Public Library Among 10 Nonprofits Awarded $135,000 in Grants from Comcast

From The Comcast Foundation:

The Comcast Foundation announced today that it has awarded $135,000 in grants to 10 nonprofit organizations in Maryland in 2014. The grants support programs aimed at the Comcast Foundation’s areas of focus – expanding digital literacy, promoting community service and building tomorrow’s leaders.

“Comcast is proud to award these grants to our partner organizations making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Donna Rattley Washington, regional vice president of government and community affairs for Comcast. “The tireless work of these nonprofit organizations is incredibly important, and we thank them for helping to make Maryland a better place to call home.”

Organizations making a meaningful difference in Maryland communities and supported by the Comcast Foundation this year include:

· Associated Black Charities (Baltimore City) – for the Career Mentoring Program, teaching a career advancement curriculum to and mentoring young adults.

· Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Chesapeake – for the Beyond School Walls program, a mentoring partnership aimed to help at-risk children from a local elementary school reach their fullest potential through one-to-one mentoring sessions with Comcast employees.

· Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore, Boys & Girls Clubs of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County and Boys & Girls Club of Westminster – to launch My.Future, a new technology initiative designed to teach Club members about our digital world and ignite their passion for technology.

· CASA de Maryland (Prince George’s County) – to train low-income immigrant youth and young adults on computer applications and software that are commonly use in the workplace and other online tools and resources to search for employment opportunities.

· Family League (Baltimore City) – to implement a STEM Maker’s Club, offering guest speakers, project based learning activities, and internship and job shadowing opportunities to students at a local high school.

· Harford County Library – for Little Leapers 3.5, an innovative program offering the Library’s youngest customers the opportunity to use iPad minis loaded with children’s apps to help teach STREAM (Science Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Math) concepts.

· Identity (Montgomery County) – for the Latino Parents Connected Program, teaching parents basic computer and web-browsing techniques and the layout and organization of Edline database putting them in a stronger position to support their children’s studies and enhance their communication with their teachers and counselors.

· Passion for Learning (Montgomery County) – for Dig.Lit, a project-based learning program linking students with teachers, technology and writing professionals as well as older students to mentor youth and help them see that literacy and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) skills are “tools for life.”

Including the support in Maryland, The Comcast Foundation has donated more than $18 million in 2014 to nonprofit organizations in the communities it serves nationwide. In addition to the grants from the Comcast Foundation, Comcast also responds to community needs through local sponsorships and in-kind support, such as airing public service announcements, employee volunteerism, and providing technology equipment and services to organizations across the country.

For these and other community efforts, for the second consecutive year Comcast NBCUniversal was recognized as one of America’s most community-minded companies by The Civic 50, an annual initiative that identifies and recognizes companies for their commitment to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business. The company also ranked first among its communications industry peers. Points of Light, the largest organization in the world dedicated to volunteer service, conducted the survey in partnership with Bloomberg LP. The Civic 50 was created in 2012 to measure corporate civic engagement and recognize companies that incorporate socially responsible practices and community leadership into their culture.