The Comcast Foundation has awarded Easterseals $200,000 in grants as part of Comcast NBCUniversal’s Assistive Technology Grant Fund. Easterseals further announces the recipients of the funds.
The Assistive Technology Grant Fund, established in 2011, supports technology programs and services that benefit children and adults with disabilities in order to help them overcome barriers.
A media release from Easterseals notes that $80,000 in grant funds are allocated to support Make the First Five Count, a free online developmental screening tool for parents and caregivers of children aged newborn to 5 years old designed to help ensure they are meeting developmental milestones.
The remaining $120,000 in grant funds will be distributed equally among the following six Easterseals affiliates to support assistive technology programs:
Easterseals Metropolitan Chicago, to invest in educational applications for its team of Head Start professionals to help enhance outcomes for children with autism and developmental delays; and Easterseals Colorado, to establish the Comcast NBCUniversal Employment Training and Technology Lab in Lakewood, Colo.
Further recipients are Easterseals Goodwill Minnesota, to provide additional computers and software at its six centers throughout the state to help enhance its employment, education, and support services for people with disabilities and young adults transitioning out of high school; and Easterseals Serving DC MD VA, to help advance the use of assistive technology at its four Child Development Centers to enhance the communication skills of young children with autism and other disabilities.
And finally, Easterseals North Georgia, to invest in technology to help early childhood and autism experts at its 12 Child Development Centers identify children with autism and other disabilities as early as possible in life and to receive the interventions they need; and Easterseals Massachusetts, to help enhance services for youth in transition and young adults through its After School Leadership Program at its Assistive Technology Regional Center in Boston.
“Comcast is proud to support Easterseals in its mission to help ensure that people with disabilities have every opportunity to be active participants in their lives and communities,” says Dalila Wilson-Scott, senior vice president of community investment for Comcast Corporation and president of the Comcast Foundation, in the release. “We are confident that together we can help children and adults to gain more independence, unlock new opportunities and achieve great things.”
“We thank the Comcast Foundation for its continued investment in assistive technology solutions,” states Randall R. Rutta, president and chief executive officer of Easterseals, per the release. “This grant fund makes it possible for Easterseals to build on our long history of providing expertise and technology support for children and adults with disabilities who want to be more actively involved in school, in the workplace, and with their families.”
[Source(s): Easterseals, PR Newswire]
