Contra Costa College Foundation’s Partnership with Comcast: Helping Kimberlly Guevara with Internet Access

Kimberlly Guevara and her family migrated to California from Nicaragua in search of better opportunities in 2021. Within a year of settling here, Kimberlly enrolled herself in English classes at Contra Costa College (CCC).

Lack of internet access was an issue at her home. In order to access what she needed online to remain enrolled, Kimberlly signed up for a unique program offered by the Contra Costa College Foundation (CCCF): free internet from Comcast. She is now able to complete all her coursework like doing research, communicating with classmates and faculty, and uploading assignments.

Since 2020 – when the pandemic moved everyone to online learning overnight – the CCC Foundation and Comcast have had a unique partnership. CCCF pays the bill for students who need access, and Comcast offers a discounted rate for each student. Hundreds of students, including Kimberlly, have benefited from this partnership and program.

“Working with Comcast to set up this partnership back in April 2020 has been a game changer for many of our students,” says CCCF Executive Director Sara Marcellino. “We originally thought we would help students with internet access during the pandemic, but the popularity of and need for the program has made it an essential one to keep supporting. We are grateful to the donors in our community and Comcast for helping us run this vital student program.”

Kimberlly talked about when she didn’t have internet. “I remember last year, I didn’t have this internet service, so I was only using my phone and the phone’s network, which was very slow and took so much time and data. But this year is different. It’s so much easier now.”

Not only does access to Comcast internet help Kimberly, but also her entire household, including her father who uses it for his own work. “My father works in a kitchen and sometimes uses the internet to manage an inventory of ingredients, and it was difficult for him to do this before with a laggy connection,” she shared.

For many of us, having access to home internet is taken for granted. For Kimberlly and her family, it has greatly improved their quality of life. And once Kimberlly is no longer a student at CCC, Comcast will still offer her the lower monthly rate.

“At Comcast, achieving digital equity, access and inclusion is at the forefront of the work we do because we understand how incredibly life-changing a reliable home Internet connection can be in today’s ever growing digital economy,” said Ken Maxey, Director of Government Relations at Comcast. “Whether it’s a first-generation college student trying to complete her coursework or a senior trying to connect to telehealth services, at Comcast we have several unique options to offer our customers and the communities we serve, as we remain committed to helping close the digital divide.”

Kimberlly endorses the CCCF Comcast program, “I would recommend this program to all CCC students that need internet because it’s free and fast, especially if you’re taking online classes. You can take advantage of it while you’re taking classes at CCC, and you can also share it with your roommates or family. It’s such a privilege, and my family and I are very thankful to the CCC Foundation.”