Comcast (News - Alert) Corp., one of the nation’s noteworthy providers of entertainment, information, and communication products and services, has introduced a multicultural education and outreach campaign, “Make a Difference – Be Counted!”

 

The campaign features Public Service Announcements and video-on-demand content presented by Comcast and other well known cable companies with an aim to raise awareness and Encourage Participation in 2010 United States Census.

 

The cable industry is contributing an estimated $3.5 million in resources to the campaign. It features Desperate Housewives star and community leader Eva Longoria-Parker in a two-part PSA series. The PSA series featuring Longoria-Parker focuses on educating communities about the 2010 Census and motivating them to fill out and return the Census form.

 

To distribute the PSAs nationwide, Time Warner (News - Alert) Cable, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, and Bresnan Communications have joined Comcast.

 

“We applaud Comcast and the other cable industry leaders for their efforts to encourage participation in the 2010 Census,” said Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. “Everyone just needs to take ten minutes to fill out and return this simple, once-a-decade census form because an accurate count of our communities’ population will impact the federal funding they will receive for education, health care, transportation and other important programs needed for a brighter future.”

 

“We are pleased to partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to help educate U.S. residents about the importance of being counted in the 2010 Census,” said David L. Cohen, executive vice president, Comcast Corp. “We are also grateful for the support and contributions of other leading cable companies to this campaign.”

 

The first PSA, titled “Awareness” educates viewers about the importance of the Census. The second PSA titled “Motivation” encourages viewers to complete and return the Census questionnaire. At www.comcastvoices.com, both English and Spanish language versions of the spots will be available. The Spanish language versions feature Lupe Ontiveros, also of Desperate Housewives fame, and Latin pop singer Jose Sosa, better known as “Jose Jose.” 

 

The PSA campaign is supported by Comcast partner, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and U.S. Census Bureau Advisory Committee members Asian American Justice Center, National Association of Latino Elected Officials and the National Conference of Black Mayors.

 

“Comcast and the cable industry are trusted voices in the communities they serve, and the most important thing they can do as our partners is get the message out that the 2010 Census is easy, important and safe,” Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves, said. “We are grateful for their contribution of resources to encourage participation in the 2010 Census.”

 

Not only PSAs, but Comcast will also make several of the U.S. Census Bureau’s “It’s Easy” tutorial videos that would be made available through its On Demand service starting on March 15. The videos will be available on Demand in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese. 

 

Comcast will also make the Bureau’s “It’s Easy” video for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals available On Demand. 

 

“This unique campaign is designed to engage all community members in the 2010 Census,” Susan Gonzales, corporate senior director of Federal and External Affairs and vice president of the Comcast Foundation, said. “We are proud to collaborate with our diversity partners who are also actively involved with a wide range of initiatives to promote the 2010 Census.”

 

Moreover, Comcast will also undertake its own internal campaign to spread the message to its employee base of more than 100,000 people.

 

In related news, Cox (News - Alert) Communications has made a donation of $5,000 to the Chula Vista Veterans Home Support Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of elderly disabled veterans.