By: Deneiva Knight, External Affairs Director at Comcast

Gone are the days when the concept of “corporate social responsibility” was at the periphery of a company’s operations. Today, businesses incorporate volunteerism and giving back at the core of their strategy — not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because of the measurable benefits it brings to the business, the employees and the bottom line.
For businesses small and large, it’s imperative to be a good corporate citizen, as consumers and employees favor companies and brands with socially and environmentally responsible practices.
Here are two ways you can incorporate community impact initiatives into your business strategy.
Leveraging your employee base is a great way to create positive, public visibility for your organization. 
Volunteer efforts provide natural opportunities for you and your team to build relationships and network with influential individuals and organizations. Volunteer work increases goodwill toward your brand — both among local consumers and community influencers.
For example, each year thousands of local Comcast NBCUniversal employees and our families, friends and community partners join together to make change happen as we volunteer at project sites in cities throughout Colorado as part of the annual Comcast Cares Day. The company’s long-standing tradition celebrates and exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism our employees bring to life each and every day of the year.
Comcast Cares is quickly approaching again this year, and on May 4, thousands of volunteers will be conducting service projects at schools and community centers across Colorado. Keep an eye out for volunteers in blue shirts at locations in Utah.

• Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salt Lake – Midvale House is hosting Comcast Cares Day with 200 volunteers. To register, please click on the following link.
•  Valley Junior High invites the entire West Valley community to participate in a day of fun and service. Help the school sparkle by cleaning and organizing classrooms, participate in a community resource fair, and much more. Valley Junior High students will participate in STEM classes. To register for this project click the following link.  
• West Jordan City welcomes 500 volunteers to help us beautify the city. Volunteers will be participating in a variety of activities throughout West Jordan including, planting trees, landscaping, weeding, replenishing mulch, and much more! To register for this project click on one of the following link. There are 22 projects taking place throughout the state of Utah. To find the project nearest you, go to ComcastInTheCommunity.com.

Defining clear focus areas will help ensure your efforts are aligned with business goals and objectives. 
There are multitudes of ways to give back to the community and make an impact. If you think through what resources – time, talent and treasure – you have to share, you will be better set up to address your community’s needs, while being authentic to your business.  
At Comcast, we focus our resources around: Digital Inclusion, Digital Exploration and Digital Skills in the Workforce. As a media and technology company, we invest in programs that serve diverse individuals seeking equal access to the advantages of technology and digital skills to help propel their success in life.
One example of how Comcast executes on our focus areas is through our partnership with local Boys and Girls Clubs across Colorado. In 2014, we partnered with Boys & Girls Club of America to launch My.Future, an interactive digital platform teaching critical digital and computer skills to Club members. We continue supporting these programs for kids at Boys & Girls Clubs across Colorado every year.
Internet Essentials, our affordable home internet program for low-income individuals, is another example of how Comcast uses our expertise to address community needs. 
These are just two of many corporate social responsibility strategies you can implement in your business to build brand love, a positive company culture and further connect with your customers.
Giving back is at the core of Comcast’s business. We work year-round to support and partner with our community organizations to connect people and our communities to what matters most.
Learn more about our community impact efforts.