Comcast announced a $70,000 grant focused on information technology (IT) training at Just A Start, which provides housing, social support and workforce development training for Cambridge residents. Additionally, Comcast surprised Just A Start with 24 laptops for residents at the organization’s event to unveil its Economic Mobility Hub.
With this latest grant, Comcast has supported Just A Start with a total of $110,000 over the last three years.
“Comcast continues to be a great partner with Just A Start,” said Carl Nagy-Koechlin, Just A Start’s Executive Director. “Thanks to Comcast’s support, we’ve trained 70 residents of Cambridge and surrounding communities with valuable IT and digital skills. This has enabled them to secure better jobs and point themselves and their families toward a brighter future.”
Recent research from the National Skills Coalition (NSC) reports that 92 percent of all jobs require digital skills but nearly one-third of U.S. workers lack basic digital skills, especially in lower-income communities and communities of color.
“In today’s world, digital skills are essential to successful workforce development,” said Carolyne Hannan, Senior Vice President of Comcast’s New England Region. “That’s why we’re proud to continue to support programs that empower local residents to build technical knowledge, prepare for their professional futures and uncover endless possibilities.”
Comcast is deeply committed to advancing digital equity in the communities it serves through Project UP, the company’s $1 billion commitment to advance digital equity through programs and community partnerships that connect people to the Internet, advance economic mobility and open doors for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, storytellers and creators. This investment includes digital equity programs such as Internet Essentials, Lift Zones and Digital Navigators. Since its inception in 2011, Comcast’s Internet Essentials has connected more than 10 million low-income Americans to broadband service at home, including more than 732,000 in Massachusetts. Additionally, Comcast has launched more than 1,250 Lift Zones in community centers nationwide – with 76 locations in Massachusetts alone – to provide free, high-speed WiFi and digital skills training.
For additional information on Project UP and Comcast’s digital equity initiatives, visit https://corporate.comcast.com/impact/project-up.
