[November 19, 2009] Big Brothers Big Sisters, Comcast and Lincoln Elementary Partner to Help Kids Succeed Through Mentoring Tweet BERLIN, Conn., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters and Comcast today joined together with local officials and community leaders to launch an innovative, first-in-the-state mentoring partnership that aims to help young people succeed in school and in life. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091119/NE14194 ) The new program - "Beyond School Walls" - matches 20 students from Lincoln Elementary School in New Britain with 20 Comcast employees for one-on-one mentoring. As part of the program, the students, known as "Littles," will visit Comcast's Berlin facility every other week throughout the school year to meet with their assigned "Bigs," who are the Comcast employees. "We couldn't be happier about this new partnership with Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters and Lincoln Elementary School, which allows us to make a significant, direct impact in the lives of so many local children," said Doug Guthrie, Senior Vice President for Comcast's Western New England Region. "This effort is consistent with our commitment to developing tomorrow's leaders by promoting community service and working with young people in their pursuit of better lives and opportunities." "We are committed to making a positive impact in the lives of the children we serve and are extremely grateful to Comcast for this powerful partnership," said Laura Green, Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters President and Chief Executive Officer. "Partnering with schools with support from public and private partners as well as individuals is critical to our success in helping children break cycles too often linked to families struggling with issues related to poverty, incarceration and single-parent households." "When Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters invited us to be a part of this amazing program, we could not have been more pleased," said Elaine Cabrale, Principal of Lincoln Elementary School, where the students are enrolled. "We've seen the reports about how the odds for succeeding in school, staying out of trouble and becoming successful adults are improved for children with Big Brothers Big Sisters' mentors. We are so delighted that Comcast is making it possible for our students to have this amazing opportunity." The "Beyond School Walls" program, which was introduced by Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern Pennsylvania, is a unique workplace mentoring program in which companies give back to their communities by hosting children from area schools at their offices. Comcast first launched its "Beyond School Walls" program last year in Philadelphia as part of a $10 million national commitment to support Big Brothers Big Sisters, which includes airtime for public service announcements, program sponsorships, national and local board member support and Comcast leadership development and training opportunities for the organization's staff. It also includes the sponsorship of the "Beyond School Walls" program in multiple cities. In addition to making it possible in the Greater Hartford area and Philadelphia, the program has launched in Houston, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis / St. Paul so far, helping to further enrich the lives of young people across the country. Comcast powers dreams in the communities it serves by providing access to innovative technology, volunteering time, giving financial support and partnering with organizations to make communities stronger. The company focuses its community investment initiatives on building tomorrow's leaders, promoting community service and expanding digital literacy. Since 2001, Comcast have provided $1.4 billion in cash and in-kind support to national and local non-profit organizations in 39 states and Washington D.C. 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's focus areas are promoting community service, expanding digital literacy and building tomorrow's leaders. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $64 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at http://www.comcast.com/InTheCommunity. About Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters, Connecticut's premier youth mentoring organization, is an affiliate of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Its mission is to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and enable them to become responsible adults by creating one-to-one relationships between them and professionally selected adult volunteers. Based in Hartford, Nutmeg was founded in 1966. It's funded, in part, by United Way organizations. It offers services to more than 2,000 youngsters in 111 of the state's 169 cities, towns and villages. For more information, visit the organization's website at http://www.nutmegbigbrothersbigsisters.org/ or call toll-free at 1-800-237-5437 (KIDS). About Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Big Brothers Big Sisters helps vulnerable children beat the odds. The organization depends on donations to help recruit volunteers and reach more children. Funding is used to conduct background checks on volunteers to ensure child safety; and provide ongoing support for children, families and volunteers to build and sustain long-lasting relationships. Big Brothers Big Sisters is proven to improve children's odds for succeeding in school, behaving nonviolently, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and breaking negative cycles. Headquartered in Philadelphia and with nearly 400 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves more than a quarter million children. Learn how you can change how children grow up in America by going to BigBrothersBigSisters.org. Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091119/NE14194PRN Photo Desk, [email protected] Comcast Cable CONTACT: Brian Kelly of Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters, +1-860-525-5437ext. 124, [email protected] , or Laura Brubaker of Comcast,+1-860-505-3445, [email protected] Web Site: http://www.comcast.com/InTheCommunity [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]