Angelynne Amores, Comcast
(847) 585-6552, Angelynne_Amores@cable.comcast.com
Cynthia Schmidt, Association House Of Chicago
(773) 772-8114, Cschmidt@Associationhouse.Org

Jul 12, 2007

Chicago, IL – In partnership with the Comcast Foundation, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., today announced a $75,000 capacity-building grant to the Association House of Chicago, a nonprofit social service agency, to expand its education work on behalf of Chicago’s Latino community. The Association House of Chicago is one of eight community-based organizations – chosen from NCLR’s Affiliate Network of more than 300 organizations throughout the nation – to be recognized with an NCLR/Comcast grant.

The Association House of Chicago will use the NCLR/Comcast grant to support its highly successful Lee y serás family literacy program. Lee y serás (Read and You Will Be) challenges the link between poverty and low literacy by encouraging parents to spend one-on-one reading time with their children and teaching parents how to build early literacy skills to help prepare young children for school. Parents and children alike benefit from reading and other learning activities that boost literacy and English language skills as part of a program that incorporates families’ culture, traditions, and personal experiences.

A formal announcement of the grant took place at the Lee y serás graduation ceremony on Thursday, July 12, 10:00 am at the Association House of Chicago, 1116 N. Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL.

Mark Allen, Area Vice President and Board Member of Association House, stated that, “Support for the Association House of Chicago’s educational programs reinforces Comcast’s continued commitment to improving opportunities for the Hispanic community in the Chicago area.”

The ceremony marked the successful graduation of 52 participants of Lee y serás. Several representatives from the city attended along with a delegation from Comcast, representatives from NCLR’s national office, community leaders, and Association House of Chicago’ directors and staff. Alderman Billy Ocasio congratulated the graduates and said, “On behalf of the City of Chicago and the 28th Ward, I would like to thank Comcast and NCLR for their generous and inspiring gift to our community. Because of the philanthropic spirit of Comcast and NCLR, families and children enrolled in Lee y serás will build literacy and language skills, prepare for school, and spend one-on-one time reading together. These activities effectively unite culture, traditions, and personal experience to foster learning and achievement by developing the participants’ capabilities and strengthening our community.”

Founded in 1899, the Association House of Chicago was established in the settlement house tradition and today serves more than 20,000 economically disadvantaged people in Chicago through programs in English and Spanish that focus on literacy, financial education, arts, and technology, among others. The organization also offers child welfare and behavioral health services. Association House serves predominantly Latino and African American families who earn less than $10,600 a year; 70% of them lack a high school diploma or GED.

“We are so pleased that NCLR and Comcast have recognized the work we do to improve education for Latino families. In particular, I’d like to commend Comcast for providing this type of funding that will help Latino community organizations become even better at what they do well. It’s not only good for our community, it’s good for Chicago and Illinois,” said Harriet Sadauskas, Executive Director of Association House of Chicago.

NCLR/Comcast capacity-building grants were awarded in the categories of Community Development, Education, Health, Workforce Development, and Advocacy. One grant was also given in the Next Generation category, to recognize young or newly established organizations in communities that have experienced the emergence of new Latino populations. The other awardees include: Del Norte Neighborhood Development Corporation, Denver, CO; Latino Memphis, Inc., Memphis, TN; Mujeres Latinas en Acción, Chicago, IL; Spanish American Civic Association, Lancaster, PA; Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Inc., Philadelphia, PA; Tiburcio Vásquez Health Center, Union City, CA; and Youth Development, Inc. and Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, Albuquerque, NM, who together submitted a joint proposal.

“The NCLR/Comcast grant will allow these NCLR Affiliates to keep doing the important work they do in their communities to help advance opportunities for all Latinos,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “We commend Comcast for its continued support of community-based organizations that strengthen and serve the Latino community.”

For more information on the NCLR/Comcast Capacity-Building Grant Program, please visit www.nclr.org.

About Association House of Chicago
Since 1899, Association House has served as a community resource, responding to the changing needs of the diverse population of Chicago’s Greater West Town neighborhoods – West Town, Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Avondale, and Hermosa. The agency assists over 20,000 individuals and families each year and provides quality social services, cultural and recreational activities for people of all ages, and opportunities for individual and family development. For more information, visit www.associationhouse.org.

About NCLR
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) – the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States – works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. Through its network of nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations (CBOs), NCLR reaches millions of Hispanics each year in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. To achieve its mission, NCLR conducts applied research, policy analysis, and advocacy, providing a Latino perspective in five key areas – assets/investments, civil rights/immigration, education, employment and economic status, and health. In addition, it provides capacity-building assistance to its Affiliates who work at the state and local level to advance opportunities for individuals and families.

Founded in 1968, NCLR is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax-exempt organization headquartered in Washington, DC. NCLR serves all Hispanic subgroups in all regions of the country and has operations in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

About Comcast
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment, and communications products and services. With 23.3 million cable customers, 10 million high-speed Internet customers, and 1.6 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management, and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast’s content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, Versus, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, and four regional Comcast SportsNets. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team, and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

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