It is September and back to school season! This year Comcast donated $15,000 to purchase over 1,200 backpacks for a Back to School giveaway for the children of Seattle Goodwill’s students.

“Seattle Goodwill is excited for this partnership with Comcast that distributed backpacks to youth at events or sites to ensure students are ready to return to school,” said Andy Herbst, Director of Job Training & Education Centers. “We appreciate Comcast supporting our students’ families.”

Backpacks were purchased through Goodwill’s new goods department and were filled with school supplies donated by Complete Office. Selected Job Training Centers are organizing on site events or tabling at community events, during August and September, where the backpacks will be handed out to recipients.

The backpacks were given away during the following events:

• August 8: Marysville, at the Susan G. Komen Health Fair
• August 20: Burien, at Seattle Goodwill’s job training and education center
• August 22: Mount Vernon, at the Burlington-Edison Back-to-School event
• August 25: Bremerton and Silverdale distribution at the Mountain View Middle School Community Fair with the Bremerton School District and Abundant Life Foursquare Church
• August 28: South Everett, at Seattle Goodwill’s job training and education center
• August 31: Seattle, at Seattle Goodwill’s flagship job training & education center

• September 18: Bellingham, at the Assistance League of Bellingham’s resource Fair in partnership with the Bellingham school district

“Our students are coming from such different socio-economic circumstances that it’s important to provide as many as possible with school supplies so they’re equipped for an education,” said Diem Ly, community relations manager for Comcast Washington. “This doesn’t solve the complex inequities students face today, but what we aim to do is something even more critical than providing material assistance. We want to show each student there is a community of people behind them, people who care about them, and want them to succeed.”

All backpacks included materials about Internet Essentials, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive high-speed Internet adoption program for low-income families.  Now entering its fifth year, Internet Essentials has connected more than 25,000 low-income Washington residents to online access at home.

Since 2011, Comcast has made 25 key enhancements to the program.  Most recently, the Company announced it is doubling the service’s download Internet speed to up to 10 Mbps downstream and providing a Wi-Fi router for no additional cost.  Customers will be able to power multiple devices simultaneously and connect any Internet-enabled device, which could help save money on wireless bills.