Comcast Renews Support for City Year With $20 Million Commitment

Three-Year Partnership Expands Leadership Development, Media Sponsorship and the In School & On Track initiative.

May 5, 2011 - Washington, DC - Today at City Year's annual National Leadership Summit, Comcast announced a three-year commitment of $20.3 million in cash and in-kind support for the national non-profit organization. This partnership renewal brings Comcast's total cash and in-kind support to more than $75 million since the relationship began in 2003. As a National Leadership Sponsor, the highest corporate sponsorship level available, Comcast will invest in teams of young leaders serving in schools, in leadership development programs and in efforts to raise awareness of City Year's campaign to keep students In School & On Track.

"Comcast is proud to continue supporting teams of City Year AmeriCorps members in our shared markets," said David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation. "Comcast values the opportunity to positively impact the leadership development of thousands of City Year staff and corps members across the country so they can have an immediate impact on the success of thousands of students in some of the lowest performing schools in the United States."

As City Year's National Leadership Development and Training Partner, Comcast supports various leadership programs across the country that prepare City Year corps members to help students graduate and succeed. Comcast is also the Presenting Sponsor of City Year's Summer Academy, an annual training academy attended by more than 800 City Year corps, staff and educators as they prepare to launch their service year. Additionally, Comcast will host Career Development Days, workshops aimed at readying City Year's young leaders for college and careers, in each of the 12 Comcast-City Year shared markets (Little Rock, AK, Los Angeles, San José, Miami, Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Denver, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, DC and New Hampshire).

As a Platinum Team Sponsor, Comcast will expand their support of City Year teams to nine cities across the country, including a new team in New Hampshire and a founding team sponsorship in Denver. Each team of corps members, young leaders ages 17-24, help turn around high-need schools by working directly with students to improve attendance, behavior and course performance through In School & On Track, City Year's national campaign to address the nation's dropout crisis. Launched in 2009 with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, school superintendents and philanthropists, In School & On Track is City Year's results-based service model designed to reach 50% of all off-track students in City Year's 20 U.S. locations.

"Every 26 seconds a student drops out of high school in America," said City Year CEO and Co-Founder Michael Brown. "Comcast is a remarkable partner who is working with City Year to help end this crisis. We are tremendously fortunate to have Comcast provide City Year corps members and staff with their expert training in leadership development, to have Comcast present our national conferences, and to have Comcast sponsor teams of City Year AmeriCorps members serving in nine cities across the country — helping to keep hundreds of students in high-poverty schools on track to graduate."

In addition to serving as National Leadership Development and Training Partner and a Platinum Team Sponsor, Comcast will continue to air City Year's PSAs nationally, an annual value of $2 million. Since 2002, Comcast has aired City Year's public service announcements across the US, totaling $30 million of air time and reaching millions of young leaders ready to answer the call, "give a year. change the world."

The funding will also support key events and initiatives across the nation, as the Presenting Sponsor of City Year's National Leadership Summit, which brings together more than 300 education, business, philanthropic and government leaders to address the dropout crisis and tactics to reverse those trends, and the National Sponsor of City Year's Opening Day ceremony, which launches corps member service in schools.