Comcast (News - Alert) will donate a quarter of a million dollars in contributions to numerous organizations engaged in disaster relief efforts. This was announced by the company during a check presentation to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley.

To be administered by the Governor’s Office on Faith Based and Community Initiatives with the United Ways of Alabama serving as the fiscal agent, the Comcast Foundation is donating $200,000 to Governor Bentley’s Emergency Relief Fund. For donations designated for those severely impacted by tornado and storm damage, this Fund acts as a clearing house, the company stated in a press release.

Since 2001, Comcast has provided $1.8 billion in cash and in-kind support to national and local non-profit organizations across the country.

“We are strongly committed to the communities we serve in Alabama and our thoughts are with those who have been impacted by this tragedy,” said John Barrett, regional senior vice president of Comcast’s Mid South Region. “Our contributions will help those hit the hardest with both personal needs and also with the restoration efforts taking place across the state.”

To restore communication services to affected markets throughout Northern Alabama and the Southeast resulting in services being restored to the vast majority of customers, Comcast and its local employees have been working around the clock. Plans for rebuilding are well underway although system damage continues to be assessed in the most devastated areas. In those areas hardest hit by these tragic storms, Comcast will be investing millions of dollars for infrastructure repairs to maintain communication services.

Recently, the company asserted that its Business Class Internet is an effective solution for small to mid-sized businesses with one location requiring online access, such as a retail store or doctor's office. Mid-sized businesses, however, typically have more complex networking requirements, often needing to utilize bandwidth-intensive applications such as cloud computing or infrastructure consolidation. The newly announced Metro Ethernet services offer a new level of high-performance, reliable and secure Internet connectivity.

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