What does it mean to be a good corporate citizen? Does it mean corporations bear some responsibility for genuine community development, creating employment and business opportunities and partnering in education at all levels? I think the answer is yes to each of these. This is basic "trickle down economics." When corporations reinvest in communities they create goodwill with their customers which in turn creates more business for the coorporation; when they invest in education, they make better schools and ultimately, more and better qualified employees. I won't judge the motivations so long as the results are genuinely positive for the communities impacted.
A good example of corporate citizenship is Comcast Cable Service. It offers Internet service for 9.95 per month to families of children who receive free or reduced price lunch in its service area. It also provides a computer at a seriously reduced priced and a few other services, including training. This is an attempt to create access to the internet for all school children. This is what I call investing in education at a most basic level.
The Bill and Melina Gates Foundation does a great job of getting computers and technology into schools but this Comcast plan strikes at the heart of my dream of a computer in every home in America. With access at home and a computer, we can begin to educate whole families. I am sure there are others doing similar work but we always speak of lack of access as one of the factors in solving the traditional digital divide. This is a a huge step in the right direction.
To read more about the Comcast program, use this link:
http://www.internetessentials.com/
That is an excellent thing that Comcast is doing. This should be adopted by all cable companies.
ReplyDeleteAs a school system we should think about providing computers and internet access like we do modifications for students with other kinds of disadvantages. Thanks for sharing.
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