- link Copy Url - [ Share on twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Bringing New Digital Resources to Chicago's South Side and Beyond https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/390036?absolute=1&via=3blnews "link to 3 B L Media's Twitter") - [ Share on linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/390036?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Linkedin") - [ Share on facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/390036?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Facebook") - [ email Share via email ](mailto:?subject=Bringing New Digital Resources to Chicago's South Side and Beyond&body=ESG News from Comcast https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/390036?absolute=1 "Share via email") [Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives](/CSR-News/philanthropy-cause-initiatives) # Bringing New Digital Resources to Chicago's South Side and Beyond ##### By Dalila Wilson-Scott Aug 10, 2022 5:10 PM ET ![a staff member standing over a student working on a Tech Hub computer](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_2x/public/images/ymcaChi_Comcast_081022.jpg) ![children gasp, and have hands over their mouths, some have huge smiles](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_2x/public/images/laptops_comcast_081022.jpg "YMCA of Metro Chicago youth react to learning they will receive free personal laptops to help build their digital adoption skills during a Project UP digital equity grant announcement.") ![staff handing out Project UP laptops to kids](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_2x/public/images/handingoutlaptops_comcast_081022.jpg "Dalila Wilson-Scott, EVP and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation and President of Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation, hands out laptops to youth at the Southside YMCA of Metro Chicago.") ![lage group of kids seated, pose with laptops from project UP](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_2x/public/images/kidswithtech_comcast_081022.jpg "YMCA of Metro Chicago youth are all smiles while displaying their new laptops during a Project UP digital equity event in Chicago.") ![two rows of desktop computers, chairs in a room "Tech Hub" on all the monitors](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_2x/public/images/techhum_comcast_081022.jpg "As part of Project UP and Comcast's commitment to digital equity, a new tech hub was unveiled at the Southside YMCA of Metro Chicago. Community members will also be able to use this facility to access online resources and build digital skills.") ![a staff member standing over a student working on a Tech Hub computer](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/public/images/ymcaChi_Comcast_081022.jpg?h=c38b841a) ![children gasp, and have hands over their mouths, some have huge smiles](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/public/images/laptops_comcast_081022.jpg?h=c673cd1c "YMCA of Metro Chicago youth react to learning they will receive free personal laptops to help build their digital adoption skills during a Project UP digital equity grant announcement.") ![staff handing out Project UP laptops to kids](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/public/images/handingoutlaptops_comcast_081022.jpg?h=c673cd1c "Dalila Wilson-Scott, EVP and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation and President of Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation, hands out laptops to youth at the Southside YMCA of Metro Chicago.") ![lage group of kids seated, pose with laptops from project UP](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/public/images/kidswithtech_comcast_081022.jpg?h=c673cd1c "YMCA of Metro Chicago youth are all smiles while displaying their new laptops during a Project UP digital equity event in Chicago.") ![two rows of desktop computers, chairs in a room "Tech Hub" on all the monitors](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/public/images/techhum_comcast_081022.jpg?h=c673cd1c "As part of Project UP and Comcast's commitment to digital equity, a new tech hub was unveiled at the Southside YMCA of Metro Chicago. Community members will also be able to use this facility to access online resources and build digital skills.") Last week, I had the special privilege of joining leaders in Chicago to announce further steps to reach even more underserved and unconnected residents in neighborhoods across the city. For more than a decade, Comcast has worked to advance digital access and connectivity – helping to close the digital divide and build pathways for success. We’re investing $500,000 over the next three years in the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, where we’re [partnering](https://chicago.comcast.com/2022/07/20/ymca-of-metropolitan-chicago-and-comcast-partner-to-get-more-chicagoans-online-help-residents-build-digital-work-and-life-skills/) to launch new targeted efforts to get and keep more Chicagoans connected and provide access to digital tools and skills training. The funding will support digital navigators as well as create six new Lift Zones – our fully equipped technology centers that provide free WiFi, tech resources, and digital skills training. The time I spent in Chicago was as heartwarming as it was inspiring. At the South Side YMCA, we were joined by kids who truly stole the show. Filling the on-site Lift Zone, their smiles beamed and their excitement could barely be contained first as they experienced the newly created tech hub and again as we surprised them with their own personal laptops to better ensure adoption at home. With the school year ahead, they will be able to conduct research for assignments, log in to coordinate with classmates, tap into internships, and join the millions of people we’ve connected to the Internet and put on a path of unlimited possibilities. **Digital Navigators – A Key to Success** Our incredible host and partners at the Y know better than just about anyone the impact our efforts will have on the local community. That’s why the team at the Y will be serving as our invaluable Digital Navigators, engaging underserved communities throughout the city. As Digital Navigators, they will help ensure more people get online and stay online through adoption focused initiatives such as the Affordable Connectivity Program or Chicago Connected that help pay for high-speed Internet and devices. Family by family, student by student, Chicagoan by Chicagoan, staff will bring the Internet into homes and help them use its many resources. Their mission cannot be overstated: A recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) [study](https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/digital-navigators-key-closing-digital-divide-study-finds) found that Digital Navigators are key ingredients in successful efforts to close the digital divide. Of those who have worked with navigators, more than 85% connected to the Internet at home more frequently and 1 in 3 found a new job or secured a higher income. Digital Navigators are the local voices community members know and trust the most. When they deliver the message of how important digital skills are and explain how to tap into available services like [Internet Essentials](https://corporate.comcast.com/stories/2022-internet-essentials-progress-report), the nation’s largest private-sector, low-income broadband adoption program, or our free, WiFi-enabled [Lift Zones](https://corporate.comcast.com/impact/digital-equity/lift-zones), people listen and lives are changed. **The Work Ahead** But there is more work to be done. As of last month, the [FCC’s Universal Service Administration Company](https://www.usac.org/about/affordable-connectivity-program/acp-enrollment-and-claims-tracker) estimates that of the 48 million Americans eligible for the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides a $30 monthly subsidy to eligible households for broadband service and connected devices, only 13.1 million had signed up. With millions of homes still without Internet throughout the country, we must continue our efforts to reach as many as possible. Comcast remains steadfast in our commitment. Through [Project UP](https://corporate.comcast.com/impact/project-up), our 10-year, $1 billion initiative to reach tens of millions of people, we’re building on our long and proven track record to reach even more communities, students, storytellers, and entrepreneurs – supporting new opportunities and setting dreams on a path to being realized. As part of Project UP we’re deepening our investments in broadband connection awareness initiatives and digital skills programs, like the one announced in Chicago. Recognizing the critical role they play, our efforts are specifically designed to work in partnership with local, trusted, community-based voices to leverage their expertise within the communities they serve. Digital adoption can provide new pathways to opportunity, but we must continue to actively engage the community in order to have the impact and reach that’s needed. Real, committed and ongoing community engagement is always – and must remain – central to all that we do. With deeply invested local leaders like we have in Chicago, I know that the challenges ahead are not insurmountable. We can reach millions more. We can empower them with the tools to building better futures. And we can change lives. I, for one, can’t wait to see the impact that will have for generations to come. *[Dalila Wilson-Scott](https://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/leadership-overview/dalila-wilson-scott) is Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation and President of the NBCUniversal Foundation.* [![Comcast logo](/sites/default/files/2025-12/corporate_NewComcastLogo_16x9.png)](/profiles/comcast) ### More from Comcast ###### [NBCUniversal Local Impact Grants Return for 9th Consecutive Year to Provide $2.5 Million for Nonprofits in 2026](/news/nbcuniversal-local-impact-grants-return-9th-consecutive-year-provide-25-million-nonprofits) Mar 27, 2026 9:00 AM ET ###### [Comcast Makes $250,000 Investment in Mile High United Way’s 211 Help Center](/news/comcast-makes-250000-investment-mile-high-united-ways-211-help-center) Mar 26, 2026 9:00 AM ET ###### [Comcast and Seattle Sports Commission Bring Team USA Spirit to Veterans in Burien](/news/comcast-and-seattle-sports-commission-bring-team-usa-spirit-veterans-burien) Mar 25, 2026 9:00 AM ET ###### [Jacksonville Military Moms Receive Surprise Gifts at Golf‑Inspired Operation Shower](/news/jacksonville-military-moms-receive-surprise-gifts-golf-inspired-operation-shower) Mar 24, 2026 11:45 AM ET ###### [From Pitch to Possibilities: Leveraging Sports to Create Economic Mobility](/news/pitch-possibilities-leveraging-sports-create-economic-mobility) Mar 20, 2026 3:45 PM ET ###### [Comcast NBCUniversal, Telemundo Station Group Partner With Soccer Forward to Deliver $600,000 in Grants to Nonprofits in FIFA World Cup 2026™ Host Cities](/news/comcast-nbcuniversal-telemundo-station-group-partner-soccer-forward-deliver-600000-grants) Mar 12, 2026 11:30 AM ET ###### [Raising the American Flag With Team USA](/news/raising-american-flag-team-usa) Mar 9, 2026 3:40 PM ET ###### [Houston Nonprofit Gives Free Xfinity Internet Service to Thousands of Families in Three U.S. Cities](/news/houston-nonprofit-gives-free-xfinity-internet-service-thousands-families-three-us-cities) Mar 4, 2026 9:00 AM ET