We’re Excited: 12 Projects Throughout Washington Highlight 10th Annual Comcast Cares Day

More than 2,000 Comcast Volunteers to Volunteer at 12 Community Service Projects Across Western Washington and Spokane for Comcast Cares Day

Volunteer sites include El Centro de La Raza in Seattle, Boys and Girls Clubs of Spokane County

On Saturday, April 30, more than 2,000 Comcast employees and their families and friends will volunteer to improve more than a dozen locations throughout Western Washington and in Spokane as part of Comcast’s “Comcast Cares Day.” 

At the same time across the country, more than 62,000 Comcast volunteers will participate in this annual day of service, which is one of the largest single days of corporate volunteer efforts in the country.  This is Comcast’s 10^th Comcast Cares Day.  Since its inception in 2001, Comcast employees, their families and friends have dedicated over 2 million hours of service.  The Company has also committed more than $10 million in grants to organizations nationwide.  Comcast Cares Day is one way that Comcast helps to power dreams and demonstrate a year-round commitment to making a difference in the communities it serves.

Comcast’s task lists for the day in Washington state are as varied as the projects, but include massive amounts of painting and landscaping, and unique tasks ranging from building a welcome counter for a building to rebuilding a miniature golf course for a homeless families’ outdoor program.

“April 30 marks our 10^th Comcast Cares Day, which has become one of the largest single-day corporate volunteer efforts in the country,” said Len Rozek, Regional Senior Vice President, Comcast Washington Region.  “I’m proud of Comcast’s commitment to improving the quality of life in the local communities where our customers and employees live and work.” 

 Here is a list of projects, by community:

Aberdeen
Rebuilding Together’s Rebuilding Day 2011
Coordinating Comcast office: Aberdeen Field Fulfillment Office
Rebuilding Together believes in a safe and healthy home for every person; it preserves affordable homeownership and revitalizes communities by providing free home modifications and repairs, making homes safer, more accessible, and more energy efficient.  Comcast activities will include:

• Home maintenance
• Window repair and replacement
• Landscaping
• Energy efficient modification projects

Bremerton
Holly Ridge Center
Coordinating office: Bremerton Field Fulfillment Office
Holly Ridge Center has been serving children and adults with disabilities for nearly 50 years. Comcast activities will include

• Updating playgrounds and equipment projects
• Landscaping
• Pressure washing projects
• Painting

Custer (near Bellingham)
Custer Elementary School
Coordinating Comcast Office: Bellingham Field Fulfillment Office
Custer Elementary School educates and cares for about 325 elementary school students.  Comcast activities will include:

• Painting
• Landscaping
• Maintenance

Federal Way
Boy Scouts of America Pacific Harbor Council’s Camp Kilworth
Coordinating Comcast office: Auburn Field Fulfillment Office
The 40-acre Camp Kilworth is a youth day and night camp site. Among the Comcast activities:

• Pressure washing
• Painting
• Campsite cleaning projects
• Landscaping
• Replacement and equipment repair projects

Kirkland
Peter Kirk Elementary School
Coordinating Comcast office: Redmond Field Fulfillment Office
Peter Kirk educates 545 elementary school students.   Comcast activities will include:

• Weeding
• Bush clearing
• Planting and beauty bark projects

Olympia
GRuB (Garden Raised Bounty)
Coordinating Comcast Office: Olympia Field Fulfillment Office
Garden-Raised Bounty (GRuB) is a grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to good food for people. The organization grows inspired, self-confident and community-minded youth through educational and employment opportunities. The group also helps low-income families and seniors to help themselves by building raised-bed gardens at their homes. Comcast activities will include:

• Planting and landscaping
• Painting

Parkland
L’Arche Farms
Coordinating Comcast Office: Puyallup Field Fulfillment Office
L’Arche Tahoma Hope Farm & Gardens strives to offer a safe and welcoming environment that provides meaningful farm and garden work to persons with developmental disabilities. Through the efforts of the workers, L’Arche Farms is able to supply organic produce to the local farmers markets and food banks. Comcast activities will include:

• Landscaping projects
• Greenhouse projects
• Compost projects
• Chicken coop projects
• Woodchip creation project

Seattle
El Centro de La Raza (The Center for People of All Races)
Coordinating Comcast Office: Seattle Field Fulfillment Office
El Centro de la Raza provides comprehensive services to the community through 32 different programs and services, including human and emergency services, education and skill-building programs, community building and development, and child and youth programs. Comcast activities will include:

• Painting
• Landscaping
• Wiring
• General maintenance
• Special event preparation (for Cinco de Mayo)
• Security camera and improvements
• Assistance with community outreach (preparing mailings, auction item procurement, packet preparation, etc…)

Snohomish
The Farm Youth Outreach
Coordinating Comcast office:  Everett Field Fulfillment Office
The Farm Youth Outreach helps homeless children and their families with food and clothing.  In 2008, the American Red Cross of Snohomish County named the organization’s founder, Bruce Karr, as Humanitarian of the Year. Comcast activities will include:

• Rebuilding the miniature golf course
• Rebuilding table tops and picnic tables
• Painting
• Landscaping and weeding
• Cleaning and pressure washing  

Spokane
Boys and Girls Clubs of Spokane County
Coordinating Comcast office: Spokane Field Fulfillment Office
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Spokane County provides educational programs, mentoring, recreational sports leagues, art and music classes to more than 4,000 at-risk youth a year at three club locations. Comcast activities will include:

•     Painting
•     Cleaning and polishing
•     Power washing
•     Landscaping

Sultan
Volunteers of America’s Sky Valley Resource Center
Coordinating Comcast Office: Lynnwood and Everett Call Centers
Sky Valley Resource Center helps individuals and families with a number of needed services.   Services offered include a preschool, gang and violence prevention for teens, a senior center and a food bank. Comcast activities will include:

• Cleaning
• Painting
• Maintenance
• Landscaping

Tacoma
Network Services
Coordinating Comcast office: Fife Call Center
Network Tacoma assists homeless families with children by providing transitional housing, resources and a program to help them achieve self-sufficiency.  Comcast activities will include::

• Painting projects
• Window weatherizing projects
• Cleaning projects
• Landscaping project
• Raised garden projects
• Food bank projects

 The Comcast Foundation will also provide grants to local community partner organizations across the country on behalf of each employee and family member who volunteers on Comcast Cares Day. The grants will help Comcast’s community partners continue their mission of serving the community throughout the year. While project volunteer groups are still coming together, Comcast anticipates volunteers from both affiliates of the Urban League and The National Council of La Raza (NCLR).

For more information on Comcast’s volunteer and community investment initiatives, visit http://www.comcast.com/inthecommunity.  For information about Comcast Cares Day in Washington in 2010 please click here.

About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq:  CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services.  Comcast is principally involved in the operation of cable systems through Comcast Cable and in the development, production and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and other content for global audiences through NBCUniversal.  Comcast Cable is one of the nation’s largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential and business customers.  Comcast is the majority owner and manager of NBCUniversal, which owns and operates entertainment and news cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, local television station groups, television production operations, a major motion picture company and theme parks.
Comcast has about 3,200 Washington employees, including 1,000 local customer service representatives in three call centers, who serve more than 1.1 million customers in Washington. For more information, visit http://www.comcastinwashingtonstate.com

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 over $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 NCLR
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR)—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans.  Through its network of nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations, NCLR reaches millions of Hispanics each year in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.  To achieve its mission, NCLR conducts applied research, policy analysis, and advocacy, providing a Latino perspective in five key areas—assets/investments, civil rights/immigration, education, employment and economic status, and health. In addition, it provides capacity-building assistance to its Affiliates who work at the state and local level to advance opportunities for individuals and families.

Founded in 1968, NCLR is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax-exempt organization headquartered in Washington, DC.  NCLR serves all Hispanic subgroups in all regions of the country and has regional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, and San Antonio.

About NUL
The National Urban League is the nation’s largest civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. Founded in 1910 and headquartered in New York City, the National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy. Today, there are more than 100 local affiliates in 36 states and the District of Columbia, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people nationwide.