New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Charter commits $30M to community centers
“Community centers are hallmarks of our neighborhoods. People turn to these centers for support, shared experiences and for help developing new job skills or finding employment.”
Rhonda Crichlow, senior vice president and chief diversity officer for Charter Communications
STAMFORD — Charter Communications, the provider of Spectrum-branded internet, cable and phone services, announced Wednesday the launch of a $30 million philanthropic initiative to revitalize community centers and invest in job-training programs in underserved communities across its 41-state footprint.
Through the Spectrum Community Assist program, Stamford-based Charter aims to improve 100 centers in urban and rural areas across the country by 2025. Charter officials estimate that 50,000 people who live near those centers would benefit from the initiative, which entails the company making a $25 million investment, as well as $5 million worth of in-kind contributions, during the next five years
“Community centers are hallmarks of our neighborhoods,” Rhonda Crichlow, senior vice president and chief diversity officer for Charter, said in a statement. “People turn to these centers for support, shared experiences and for help developing new job skills or finding employment.”
As part of Spectrum Community Assist, Charter said it would invest in community centers’ job-training programs with cash grants and in-kind contributions, improve classrooms and provide new equipment including laptops and furniture. It has also committed to offering each community center advanced 1-gigabit internet service.
Charter is kicking off the program on Saturday at the Better Family Life Community Center in St. Louis. It is planning similar events in October in Charlotte, N.C., and in November in Stamford.
Company officials also said the new program would complement Spectrum Housing Assist, which provided home repairs to low-income homeowners.
“Seven years ago, we set out to make a difference in our communities through Spectrum Housing Assist,” Crichlow said. “Spectrum Community Assist is a natural evolution of that successful effort.”
As one of the country’s largest telecommunications companies, Charter ranked No. 64 on this year’s Fortune 500 list. As of June 30, it served about 30 million residential customers and about 2 million small and medium businesses.
Charter employs about 1,300 in Stamford, according to data recently provided by the company. Its new headquarters building is located at 406 Washington Blvd., next to the downtown Metro-North Railroad station.