Thread: Comcast Cares Day

different articles about Comcast Cares Day.
Note you never see Dish or DirecTV helping out there local communities or even pay a franchise fee to help out your local community with services the county, city and towns are able to provide to you with the help of those franchise fees. keep that in mind who really benefits your home town.

GARY — Two city organizations got a boost Saturday courtesy of the local cable company — and the volunteers who came to help were all the better for it.

Throughout the country, Comcast sponsored its Comcast Cares day, during which employees do philanthropic work.

In Gary, not-for-profit entities Gary Neighborhood Services and Image of Hope were the lucky ones, getting facelifts from more than 200 employees and volunteers, according to Greg Homoka, head of governmental affairs for Comcast in Northwest Indiana.

Homoka came upon the two organizations by way of Amy DeHaan of the Parents as Teachers group in Gary.

She suggested them to him, and he was impressed by the work they do.

Though separate entities, GNS and Image of Hope do a lot of complementary work with each other, said Eliza Vela, executive director for GNS.

“We make referrals to one another all the time,” Vela said. “We provide a wide range of services, from elderly services and after-school tutoring to Healthy Start and WIC. Plus, we’re open on Sundays for church services.”

Volunteers working at GNS painted and cleaned up its kitchen, and painted its day-care center and multipurpose rooms, Vela said.

“The work will better enhance the center,” she said.

Homoka enjoys the event, now in its third year in the Chicagoland area, because it’s largely a family-oriented event.

“It’s just part of what we do all year long,” he said. “Being part of the community is part of the fabric of Comcast.”

Shawn and Bridgette Kettle of Crown Point took a break from painting with Rob Scallorn of Valparaiso and Joe and Martha Wilkerson of Portage while waiting for lunch to be served. They were happy to help.

“It makes you feel good when someone appreciates what you do,” Shawn Kettle said.

“One teacher already came up to me and said how excited she was now that her room was painted,” said Heidi Cooper, a Comcast employee in charge of scheduling volunteers. “She has all new decorations, and she can’t wait to get them up in her room.”

Around Chicagoland, more than 2,000 Comcast employees worked on 41 different projects, according to media relations director Angelynne Amores.

ALGONQUIN — Educators traded books for Bobcat tractors Saturday as hundreds of volunteers contributed thousands of dollars worth of labor and fixes to Community Unit School District 300 buildings, with help from media company Comcast.

About 540 volunteers painted fences, planted trees and spread mulch at district schools in what amounted to a $50,000 project, Comcast Government Affairs Director Daniel Maloney said.

"There were a lot of people signing up today," Maloney said.

Comcast has sponsored a nationwide day of service, Comcast Cares Day, for employees since 2001, and started the effort in the Chicago area three years ago.

Michelle Payne, a dispatch employee who lives in Schiller Park, said she has taken part all three years with her two children to help them learn about volunteerism.

"I come basically to give back to the community that gives to us," Payne said.

District 300 became a focal point of the project this year after Dick Storm, Dundee-Crown High School's athletic director, forged a relationship with the company last year, Maloney said. Storm asked the company for help setting up a live video contact with a Marine serving in Iraq, Larry Kaifesh, when he was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.

This year's donation was funneled through the district's Foundation for Educational Excellence, and various other local companies contributed — like Carpentersville's John and Sons contractors and Platt Hill Nursery.

Comcast has an office in Carpentersville, Maloney said, and about 100 company workers live within District 300's boundaries.

Parents, businesses and teachers were among others recruited to help, armed with 140 cubic yards of dirt, 185 gallons of paint and 300 cubic yards of playground mulch.

Associate Superintendent David Scarpino helped slap yellow paint on curbs at Lake in the Hills Elementary School. Superintendent Ken Arndt, in his jeans and baseball hat, pushed a wheelbarrow at Westfield Community School, and school board member Mary Fioretti gardened at Lakewood School in Carpentersville.

Every school in the district received some type of fix-up after principals each submitted project wish lists, which then were whittled down to what would be feasible in one long morning.

"We had to make them more realistic," district spokeswoman Darlene Johnson said.

The day started off with breakfast at Westfield Community School and music from the Jacobs High School jazz band and Dundee-Crown and Hampshire high schools' marching bands. By about noon, crews filed back to Westfield for grilled hot dogs, brownies and other snacks.

Technology operations supervisor Alex Anderson of Waukegan said he helped paint a map of the United States on the playground at Algonquin Lakes Elementary.

"It gives us a good feeling to know we're helping the community," he said.

Comcast employees and family members from Santa Maria Valley volunteered to clean the Lompoc United Boys & Girls Club Saturday.

They repainted the gym, and the day-care and games room, helped refill sand in the playground and swept and vacuumed the club as part of an annual day of service.

The work was done from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with about 50 volunteers participating.

Dena Lara, director of the Boys & Girls Club, said she was pleased with the club being a recipient of the annual program, now in its fifth year.

"We're really excited to get the opportunity for Comcast to come and make everything look better and cleaner which is what the kids deserve," Lara said.

Lara said she was especially happy with how clean the club was at the end of the day.

"The kids will notice the facility looks cleaner, smells good. They cleaned all the carpets in the gym and the games room."

Cal Sandle, Comcast technical supervisor, said the work shows how Comcast is "part of the community."

"We want to show that we're not just a cable company," Sandle said. "We want to help out when we can."

Last year, nearly 30,000 Comcast employees and their families participated in the fourth annual Comcast Cares Day, volunteering in 278 community projects nationwide. This year, 30,000 employees will work on volunteer projects, like the cleaning project at the Lompoc United Boys & Girls Club, in 32 states and the District of Columbia.

"We do not always have the funding or the volunteers to complete our improvement projects, but this year, Comcast is helping us make it possible," Lara said in a statement.

In addition to the day of service on Saturday, Comcast employees are year-round volunteers for various projects and organizations through the company's Comcast Cares program.

(cont)...Community Day of Service

Over 1,650 local volunteers will participate in fifth annual Comcast Cares Day, joining 30,000 Comcast employees across the nation at 300 service locations

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 1,650 Comcast employees and their families from the Philadelphia metro and surrounding areas will volunteer to improve local schools, parks, community centers, shelters and other organizations as part of Comcast's fifth annual company-wide day of service on October 1, 2005. Comcast Cares Day is one of the largest single- day corporate volunteer efforts in the United States. This year 30,000 employee volunteers are expected to work on projects at 300 locations in 32 States and the District of Columbia.

For one of the seven projects in the greater Philadelphia area, Comcast Headquarters will partner with the School District of Philadelphia at Penn Treaty Middle School which educates students in grades 5-8 from the Kensington, North Philadelphia and Fishtown areas of the city. Together Comcast and local school volunteers will refurbish the school's classrooms, repaint exterior fencing, update the computer technology lab, conduct a library book and school supply drive for students and teachers and organize donations of athletic supplies and electronic equipment such as TVs and air conditioners. The Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia will join the effort by painting four murals inside the school.

"At Comcast, we have always believed in giving back to our communities," said Comcast Chairman and CEO, Brian L. Roberts. "This year's project at Penn Treaty Middle School is really exciting for us because we are working with the School District to improve education for some of Philadelphia's children, and education is something Comcast is truly passionate about."

The day of service will being with a kickoff program at 9:00 am at Penn Treaty Middle School (600 E. Thompson Street Philadelphia, PA 19125) with participation from Mayor John Street, Ralph Roberts, Comcast Founder, Paul Vallas, CEO of the School District of Philadelphia, Garry Maddox, former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder and Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Famer and Hip-Hop, Philadelphia 76ers mascot.

"As we continue to make improvements across Philadelphia in our school system, it is great to have local companies like Comcast contribute to the effort," said James E. Nevels, chairman of the Philadelphia's School Reform Commission. "Comcast continues to be a great corporate citizen to the entire Greater Philadelphia region."

"I am thrilled that Comcast chose Penn Treaty Middle School as one of their projects on Comcast Cares Day," said Paul Vallas, CEO of the School District of Philadelphia. "By serving as good corporate citizens and investing so much to improve conditions at Penn Treaty, Comcast is affecting young lives in Philadelphia."

In addition to the day of service on October 1, Comcast employees volunteer year-round with a variety of projects and organizations through the company's Comcast Cares program.

If everybody is a volunteer, what the f' is Comcast paying for out of the franchise fees?