Boys & Girls Clubs of America Expands Effort to Close Digital Divide with More Than $3 Million in Comcast Foundation Grants
ATLANTA & PHILADELPHIA, November 16, 2015 /3BL Media/ - Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and Comcast NBCUniversal announced today the Comcast Foundation has invested more than $3 million in BGCA’s My.Future technology initiative. The grants are part of the company’s five-year partnership with BGCA, which was announced last year and is valued at tens of millions of dollars. The grants will further develop the My.Future technology platform and curriculum and give more Clubs access to the technology, tools and teachers to activate the program. My.Future provides hands-on technology training to equip Club kids with the skills needed to compete in a 21st century economy.
BGCA is using $1.5 million to further develop and build-out the My.Future program. The remaining funding is being awarded to approximately 90 local Boys & Girls Clubs across the country to provide Club staff with training and to purchase state-of-the-art equipment that reflects today’s mobile environment, including computers, tablets, smartboards, digital cameras, music studio tools and video-editing technology needed for the Clubs to fully implement and teach the My.Future curriculum.
"With the ever-changing technological world we live in, it is our responsibility to make sure that kids and teens are equipped with the tools and resources needed to compete for 21st century jobs, leadership opportunities and to thrive in today’s digital world," said Jim Clark, President and CEO of BGCA. "Thanks to our partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal to create and continually evolve our My.Future program, we’ve seen valuable impact for Club members, improving digital literacy from igniting passions in robotics to coding and game design. We are excited to see the program grow and influence even more Club youth.”
“Comcast NBCUniversal is proud to partner with BGCA to expand My.Future to help conquer the digital divide,” said David L. Cohen, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast Corporation. “My.Future is an exceptional initiative to help educate today’s youth about our digital world, and I commend BGCA for their dedication to teaching Club members the skills they need to pursue bright futures.”
My.Future is a cutting-edge technology education initiative that provides hands-on experiences and enables Club members to select from more than 40 activities to help them understand how to safely and productively engage online and identify and develop digital interests – from Internet basics for technology beginners, to robotics, coding, game design and online journalism for advanced learners.
Since 2011, Comcast and the Comcast Foundation have dedicated more than $240 million in cash and in-kind support to fund digital readiness initiatives nationwide, reaching nearly 3.2 million people through non-profit, digital literacy partners, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Comcast has supported local Boys & Girls Clubs for more than a decade, providing more than $100 million in cash and in-kind contributions.
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, more than 4,100 Clubs serve nearly 4 million young people annually through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun, 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, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at http://www.bgca.org/facebook and http://bgca.org/twitter.
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 one of the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. NBCUniversal operates 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 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 $170 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.
Contacts
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Sara Leutzinger, 404-487-5624
sleutzinger@bgca.org
or
Comcast
Katie Lubenow, 215-286-5691
katie_lubenow@comcast.com
or
Lisa Ferri, 215-286-7676
lisa_ferri@comcast.com
