Thu Apr 20, 2017
Duke Energy Convention Center Employees Partner with Cincinnati Public Schools for 16th Annual Comcast Cares Day
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DUKE ENERGY CONVENTION CENTER EMPLOYEES PARTNER WITH CINCINNATI PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR 16TH ANNUAL COMCAST CARES DAY
Cincinnati, OH – April 20, 2017 – On Thursday, April 20, local Spectra by Comcast Spectacor employees from the Duke Energy Convention Center and Prestige AV & Creative Services have helped to “make change happen” by volunteering to lead students from Frederick Douglass Elementary School as part of the 16th annual Comcast Cares Day.
Spectra, part of Comcast, provides Venue Management and Food Services & Hospitality at the convention center.
Comcast Cares Day is more than just a day – it’s the culmination of Comcast NBCUniversal’s commitment to volunteerism that began when the company was founded more than 50 years ago. From using technology to create positive change, such as wiring community centers and libraries and teaching digital literacy skills, to mentoring youth, to beautifying parks, Comcast NBCUniversal employees volunteer on this day, and throughout the year, to make a lasting impact. This year, the Company expects more than 100,000 volunteers to participate in approximately 900 projects across the country and around the world. To date, volunteers have contributed nearly 5 million volunteer hours at 7,700 projects since Comcast Cares Day began in 2001.
Over 40 students visited the Duke Energy Convention Center where Executive Chef Purvill Chaney and Spectra employees gave the students a behind-the-scenes look at the center’s state of the art kitchen. The students visited a series of interactive stations where they learned how to prepare a number of foods including fruits and vegetables currently growing in their own community garden. The students enjoyed small plates, learned how to properly set a table and even heard from Spectra employees with career tips and information on life at the DECC.
Frederick Douglass Elementary is a member of Slow Food USA’s National School Garden Program which provides garden and food-based educational opportunities for students. Students participate in the school’s gardening club, Mr. Cecil’s Planting Panthers, named for a neighbor who watched over the garden as if it were his own. Frederick Douglass Elementary students are joined by students from Walnut Hills High School working together in planting, weeding, watering and harvesting the garden and the foods that were used.
“As we celebrate our 16th annual Comcast Cares Day, we are proud to partner with Frederick Douglass Elementary to give back in our community,” said Spectra’s Ric Booth, General Manager of the Duke Energy Convention Center. “It’s truly amazing what’s possible when volunteers donate their time to make a difference in the lives of others and we are so thankful for the participants who help to make this effort a success today and throughout the year.”
“I have seen an appreciation for the outdoors grow and develop amongst the kids,” says Sheena Dunn of Activities Beyond the Classroom, an area organization that supports extracurricular activities for Cincinnati Public Schools. “Now they are excited to harvest the vegetables and make some of the yummy foods they learned to prepare this afternoon.”
The Comcast Foundation will also provide grants to local community partner organizations across the country on behalf of everyone who volunteers on Comcast Cares Day. The grants will help Comcast’s community partners continue their mission of serving the community throughout the year. To date, the Comcast Foundation has awarded more than $20 million in grants to local non-profit organizations who have served as partners on Comcast Cares Day.
Additionally, Comcast will once again fold in the broad support and amplification of Global Citizen and Red Nose Day, organizations aiming to end extreme poverty globally and in the United States. These organizations use the universal language of music and entertainment as a vehicle to engage people around the world to make a difference. By amplifying our support of these initiatives on Comcast Cares Day, Comcast NBCUniversal is providing additional ways to help drive positive change in our communities.
For more information on Comcast NBCUniversal volunteer and community investment initiatives, visit www.comcast.com/community.
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About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) 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 nonprofit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities. The Foundation has three community investment priorities—expanding digital literacy, promoting community service, and building tomorrow’s leaders. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $195 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.
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