Michigan’s corporations are often under fire for not giving enough, so it’s worth taking a moment to recognize the efforts of organizations that support annual giving programs.

One recent highlight is the donations from the Comcast Foundation, which will disbursing more than $350,000 to area organizations this year.

These donations change lives.

Rather than returning to an empty home after school, hundreds of kids will now be able to head to programs supported by the Boys and Girls Clubs.

Their activities help many young people.

Ask Key’isha Manassa, who credits the Boys and Girls Club’s afterschool programs for helping her realize that not only could she complete high school, but she could go on to college and live a life that once seemed unimaginable her.

Some grant recipients, like City Year Detroit, are involved in critical school turn-around efforts that are transforming area schools.

Sixty three percent of students in grade 6 through 9 earning a D or worse in English improved to C or better, in an innovative program led by City Year.

These donations create true literacy.

Some background: The Comcast Foundation was founded by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified non-profit organizations. The Foundation has three community investment priorities—expanding digital literacy, promoting community service, and building tomorrow’s leaders.

Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated $195 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves.

That’s why these type of programs need to be applauded and supported. Helping the state’s nonprofit organizations through these continued investments are why Michigan is a better place to call home, Gov. Rick Snyder has said. We wholeheartedly agree; it is this kind of spirit of cooperation that makes this region grow and thrive.

For Comcast, supporting the well-being and interests of its 3,700 Michigan employees is one of the reasons it believes in giving back, said Tim Collins, a senior vice president for Comcast in Michigan. Comcast also responds to community needs through local sponsorships and in-kind support, such as employee volunteerism and providing technology equipment and services to educational institutes and local libraries across the country.

Why do they do it? They do it because they have been in the state for four decades.

They do it because it strengthens the state, our cities, particularly Detroit and Flint.

Last year Comcast also launched an advanced consumer trial of a new internet service that will deliver speeds up to 1 Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) to residential customers throughout the entire city of Detroit.

It also teamed up with the City of Detroit to help more small businesses afford the upfront costs of joining Project Green Light. Project Green Light, launched in January, lets convenience stores, restaurants, and gas stations voluntarily connect with the Detroit Police Department’s Real-time Crime Center where the premises are monitored for activity. A green dome light located at the business indicates the presence of high-definition surveillance cameras designed to discourage robbery, loitering, and also to help solve crime.

Including the support in Michigan, the Comcast Foundation donated $19 million in 2016 to nonprofit organizations in the communities it serves nationwide.

The organizations receiving Comcast Foundation grants in 2016 include:

City Year Detroit ($100,000)
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit ($30,000)
Association of Chinese Americans (Madison Heights) ($23,000)
Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation ($20,000)
Urban League of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan ($20,000)
100 Black Men of Greater Detroit, Inc. ($15,000)
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Michigan Capital Region, Inc. (Lansing) ($15,000)
Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan ($15,000)
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (Dearborn) ($13,000)
Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan (Ypsilanti) ($10,000)
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Flint ($10,000)
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Holland ($10,000)
Boys and Girls Clubs of Oakland and Macomb Counties ($10,000)
Boys and Girls Clubs of the Muskegon Lakeshore (Muskegon) ($10,000)
Girl Scouts of Southeast Michigan ($10,000)
Grand Rapids Urban League, Inc. ($10,000)
Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, Inc. ($10,000)
Southwestern Michigan Urban League, Inc. (Battle Creek) ($10,000)
Turning Point (Okemos) ($10,000)

  100 Black Men of Greater Detroit, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, Association of Chinese Americans, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Flint, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Michigan Capital Region, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Holland, Boys and Girls Clubs of Oakland and Macomb Counties, Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Muskegon Lakeshore, City Year Detroit, Comcast, Comcast Business, Comcast Foundation, Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan, Girl Scouts of Southeast Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder, Grand Rapids Urban League, Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, Inc., investment in nonprofits in Detroit, investment in nonprofits in Michigan, Southwestern Michigan Urban League, Tim Collins, Turning Point, Urban League of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan