The Comcast Foundation announced today that it has awarded a $60,000 grant to support the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington’s “Club Tech” technology education program over the next three years. The announcement was made at a special dedication ceremony for the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington’s new Academic Tutoring Center, which was attended by city officials, members of the Burlington Boys & Girls Club, Comcast representatives and other partners who were instrumental in making the Academic Tutoring Center a reality.
The grant will allow the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington to offer the Club Tech program at the new Academic Tutoring Center. Club Tech is a national technology initiative managed by Boys & Girls Clubs that provides state-of-the-art software and teaches members computer skills and Internet safety; introduces them to marketable skills and career opportunities; and guides Club staff in using technology to enhance all programs and operations.
Comcast also ran new cable lines to the Academic Tutoring Center and will be providing courtesy services to the facility, giving students access to a quality internet connection to work on homework, conduct research, and apply for jobs and to colleges.
“The Boys & Girls Club of Burlington is so grateful for this support from Comcast,” said Mary Alice McKenzie, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington. “The Comcast grant will allow us to do the work necessary so that Club kids have a greater chance of success in school. We know that classroom teachers work hard to help kids. But as the place they come to when school is done for the day or over for the year, we have a special responsibility to help too. The technology that will be funded by Comcast is absolutely essential for us to carry out our education support mission on behalf of the children and youth who come to the Club for help.”
Pictured are: Karen Perham-Lippman, Comcast Regional Manager of Community Relations; Conrad Ritchie, Comcast Technician in Vermont; Tuck Rainwater, Comcast Director of Government and Community Relations in Vermont; Mary Alice McKenzie, Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, along with Boys & Girls Club of Burlington youth.
“Comcast is committed to expanding digital literacy, promoting service and building tomorrow’s leaders in the Burlington area,” said Tuck Rainwater, Director of Government and Community Relations for Comcast in Vermont and a member of the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington’s Board of Directors. “In April the Club was one of four Vermont community sites that were beautified by our employee volunteers and their family and friends during our 13th Comcast Cares Day, our nationwide day of volunteerism, and we recently announced our support of the Burlington Boys & Girls Club’s Digital Connectors program for a fifth straight year. This Club Tech grant is another way we’re working with local community partners to get our youth online and provide them with the technical skills and tools they need to compete in today’s world.”
About Boys & Girls Club of Burlington
The Boys & Girls Club of Burlington has been serving area youth since 1942. The Club’s mission is to inspire and enable community youth, especially those who need the Club most, to realize their full potential as productive, healthy, responsible and caring citizens. The Club offer programs for children and teens in grades K - 12: K-3 programs at Burlington’s Integrated Arts Academy (formerly H.O. Wheeler School), middle-school programs at the O’Brien Community Center in Winooski, and 4-12th grades at their main Clubhouse at 62 Oak Street in Burlington. The Club has an annual enrollment of 250 full time members and serves more than 1,000 community youth and families through their many outreach activities. Visit www.bandgclub.org (link is external) for more information.
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 service, expanding digital literacy, and building tomorrow’s leaders. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $143 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/community (link is external).
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. NBCUniversal operates 30 news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com (link is external) for more information.
BURLINGTON, VT – June 25, 2014 – The Comcast Foundation