ASPIRA's Charter School in South Miami-Dade Provides 250 Comcast Internet Essentials Opportunity Car

ASPIRA's Charter School in South Miami-Dade Provides 250 Comcast Internet Essentials Opportunity Cards to Its Students

Gift Entitles Students to One Year of Free Internet Access

HOMESTEAD, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ASPIRA/Florida, in partnership with Comcast, celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month today with a very special gift to the students at The ASPIRA South Youth Leadership Charter School near Homestead: the gift of knowledge in the form of free Internet access for a year through Comcast's Internet Essentials program.

ASPIRA/Florida is dedicated to the development of Latino and other minority youth who want to excel academically and become leaders in the community. The ASPIRA South Youth Leadership Charter School is a middle school (grades 6-8) located in the multi-ethnic community of Leisure City, Florida, near Homestead. Students from this predominantly low-income community include a large migrant population. Ninety-four percent of students at the middle school receive free or reduced-price lunch, and a majority of them speak a language other than English in their homes.

With the assistance of Firstbank Florida, which provided funding for this effort, ASPIRA is providing 250 Internet Essentials Opportunity Cards to eligible students, enabling them and their families to access the Internet at home free for one year. The Comcast Internet Essentials program is the nation's largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption initiative for low-income families. Internet Essentials works by providing low-cost broadband service for $9.95; an option to purchase a computer for less than $150 and access to free digital literacy training to households that have at least one child eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program.

"Technology is radically changing the way our children are learning and we need to give them access to information if we hope to bridge this digital divide," said ASPIRA CEO George Carbrera. "Getting our students connected is just the first step and we hope this opens up many new doors of opportunity for them and their families."

This is the third year of Comcast's Internet Essentials program and it continues to make progress in narrowing the digital divide. In fact, through Internet Essentials more than 220,000 families, benefitting an estimated 900,000 low-income Americans nationwide, now have a broadband connection at home. This includes nearly 18,700 families in the South Florida area and nearly 30,000 in the state of Florida.

"We applaud ASPIRA for taking the initiative and using the new opportunity cards to benefit its students," said Comcast's Regional Vice President of Government Affairs and Community Investment in Florida, Derek Cooper. "This is a very generous gesture that will benefit all of ASPIRA's students. The computer screen is becoming the new blackboard, so the more technology these students have at their disposal, the greater potential they have to excel."

The momentum surrounding Internet Essentials continues to increase. Since the program's launch in August 2011, Internet Essentials has enrolled upwards of 50,000 new families every six months. In the first six months of 2013, 70,000 new families have signed up.

For more information about Internet Essentials visit www.InternetEssentials.com for English and www.InternetBasico.com for Spanish. Educators or third-parties interested in helping to spread the word can find more information at InternetEssentials.com/partner. Parents looking to enroll in the program can call 1-855-846-8376 or, for Spanish, 1-855-765-6995.

About Internet Essentials:

Internet Essentials from Comcast is the nation's largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program. It provides low-cost broadband service for $9.95 a month plus tax; the option to purchase an Internet-ready computer for under $150; and multiple options to access free digital literacy training in print, online, and in-person. A household is eligible to participate if it has at least one child eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), is located where Comcast offers Internet service, has not subscribed to Comcast Internet service within the last 90 days, and does not have an overdue Comcast bill or unreturned equipment. Families that enroll in the program can continue to enjoy the service as long as one child eligible to participate in the NSLP is living in the household.

About Comcast Corporation:

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. NBCUniversal operates 30 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 ASPIRA

ASPIRA is a nationally respected non-profit community-based organization founded in 1961 in New York. Established in Florida in 1981 by a group of professionals who recognized the vital role that education plays in the economic, social and political advancement of minority communities in the United States, it has an exceptional track record of positive youth development. The overall purpose of ASPIRA of Florida, Inc. is to foster the social advancement of minority groups, by empowering their youth in the pursuit of educational excellence, through leadership development projects that emphasize commitment to the community. While originally organized to assist disadvantaged Latino youth, ASPIRA currently serves a multicultural group of young people who want to excel and become contributing members of the community. To read more about ASPIRA of Florida, Inc., visit www.aspirafl.org.

Comcast Corporation
Spero Canton, 954-931-2906
spero_canton@cable.comcast.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America Florida

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