Comcast Announces $30,000 Grant to Tennessee Veteran Colleges in Celebration of U.S. Military

BRISTOL, Tenn. – (June 1, 2020) – On June 1st, during the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Comcast will celebrate the U.S. military and salute its own military employees from across the company who are working to keep communities safe and connected. Comcast will award a $30,000 grant to six community colleges in East Tennessee that have been designated as Veteran Education Transition Support (VETS) campuses by the Tennessee Board of Regents or have a substantial veterans student enrollment.

“Our heartfelt thanks go out to Comcast for this grant to support veterans pursuing their education at our colleges,” said Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings. “Like Comcast, we are deeply committed to supporting the men and women who served our country. All of our community colleges have veterans service officers to help veterans make the transition, and most have achieved VETS-designated campus status.”

The grant will support the VETS program by supplying enrolled veterans with laptops to help them complete their coursework and with post-graduation job searches.  The six community colleges are:

• Chattanooga State
• Cleveland State
• Pellissippi State
• Northeast State
• Roane State
• Walters State

“We are honored to award this grant to the veteran-dedicated schools in East Tennessee, and to reaffairm our companywide commitment to our veterans and their families,” said Jason Gumbs, Comcast’s Regional SVP. “We are thankful for the tremendous contributions of those who serve our country, including our own employees who make such a critical sacrifice.”

During the broadcast, Comcast will also salute military community employees from across the company. Among those to be recognized are 23 Comcast representatives actively serving in the National Guard who are responding to the current crisis.

Nationally, approximately 50,000 National Guard and reserve service members are mobilized in response to the pandemic, and more than 2,000 Comcast NBCUniversal employees serve in the National Guard and Reserves.

Throughout the week, Comcast  will recognize these frontline heroes’ stories using #XfinitySalutes and on @XfinityRacing’s Twitter and Instagram feeds. For more information around Comcast’s crisis response, click here.

Passed into law in 2014, the Tennessee Veterans Education Transition Support (VETS) Act establishes a program of recognition for higher education institutions which allocate resources for veterans’ successful transition from military service to college enrollment. An institution receiving VETS campus certification not only prioritizes outreach to veterans, but successfully delivers the services necessary to create a supportive environment where student veterans can prosper while pursuing their education.