Comcast Contributes $20,000 in Grants to Boys & Girls Clubs in Rockford Region
Funding supports digital skills training and youth programming at Boys & Girls Clubs in Rockford and Freeport
Comcast today announced it has awarded a total of $20,000 in grants to the Boys & Girls Club of Rockford and the Boys & Girls Club of Freeport and Stephenson County. Each organization received a $10,000 grant to support youth programming and digital skills training.
The new funding will support the Rockford club’s Great Futures program, which helps young people succeed in school and prepare for lifelong success, and will expand digital literacy programming in the Freeport club to empower youth with the skills they need to thrive in a connected world.
This marks the ninth consecutive year in which Comcast has partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs in the region and follows the company’s continued investment in Rockford-area communities. In May, Comcast co-launched the Rockford Digital Opportunity Initiative with the Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence to address the digital divide and increase digital opportunity in Rockford. Last year alone, Comcast contributed $100,000 in cash and in-kind donations to Rockford nonprofits.
“We’re incredibly grateful for Comcast’s continued partnership and investment in our youth,” said Chip Stoner, President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Rockford. “Support like this helps us expand access to digital tools and educational programming that are critical to helping young people build confidence, succeed in school, and prepare for great futures.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs also serve as two of ten Rockford region locations outfitted with a Comcast Lift Zone, which provides free high-capacity Wi-Fi for residents to access the Internet and develop digital skills. Comcast has more than 1,250 Lift Zone locations nationwide, including nearly 90 in Illinois. Lift Zones complement Comcast’s Internet Essentials program, a low-cost Internet adoption program for lower-income households, which has helped more than 2.2 million Illinois residents – including more than 100,000 in Rockford – connect to the Internet at home over the last ten years.
“Comcast’s ongoing support will help us sustain and grow our digital skill programming that helps students embrace technology to achieve success in school and in life,” said James Rhyne, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Freeport and Stephenson County. “Thank you to Comcast for investing in our community’s future.”
These grants are part of Project UP, Comcast’s $1 billion commitment to advance digital opportunity and help create a future of unlimited possibilities.
“Boys & Girls Clubs play an essential role in closing the digital divide by serving as trusted youth centers that equip the next generation with the skills needed to succeed in our increasingly digital world,” said Grace Hong Duffin, Comcast’s Regional Vice President of External and Government Affairs. “We’re proud to continue supporting organizations that share our commitment to advancing digital opportunity in our communities.”