Last fall, Comcast announced a new initiative called “Lift Zones,” designed to bring robust WiFi connectivity to thousands of students and families across the Twin Cities. COVID-19 has left many students from low-income families at risk of being left behind. Lift Zones are designed to help those students who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to participate in distance learning or use other online resources at home.
The first group of 14 Twin Cities Lift Zone locations included community partners such as Phyllis Wheatley Community Center in Minneapolis, The Sanneh Foundation at Conway Community Center in St. Paul, and Perspectives Family Center in St. Louis Park. Since then, Comcast has worked with additional partners across the metro to bring the total to 31 Lift Zone sites now active in the Twin Cities.
“Access to the internet is a critical component to providing digital equity for all, and we’re proud to partner with so many key community organizations in making that possible through our Lift Zones,” said J.D. Keller, senior regional vice president, Comcast Twin Cities. “There is no single answer to address the distance learning challenges of COVID-19, but we’re working hard to bridge the gap for as many students and families as possible.”
Lift Zones are a multiyear, nationwide effort to roll out more than 1,000 WiFi-connected Lift Zones in local community centers, with plans to add additional sites in the Twin Cities by the end of 2021. The initiative complements Comcast’s Internet Essentials program, which has helped connect more than 8 million low-income people to the Internet at home over the past nearly ten years.
See the video directly below to experience the impact of Lift Zones in the Twin Cities. In addition, a full listing of metro area Lift Zone sites is included further below. To learn more, click HERE.
Recently-added Lift Zone locations:
- Family Means Cimarron, Lake Elmo
- Family Means 52, Landfall
- Family Means, Landfall
- Little Earth Residents Association, Minneapolis
- YMCA of the North @ Minnetonka Heights Community Program, Minnetonka
Existing Lift Zone locations:
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities locations
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- Al Lenzmeier West Side, St. Paul
- East Side, St. Paul
- Jerry Gamble Center, Minneapolis
- Mount Airy, St. Paul
- Southside Village, Minneapolis
- DIVINE Institute, St. Paul
- Division of Indian Work, Minneapolis
- Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, St. Paul
- Hmong Cultural Center, St. Paul
- Keystone Community Services, St. Paul
- Neighborhood House, St. Paul
- North Star Network, Allina Commons, Minneapolis
- Perspectives Family Center, St. Louis Park
- Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, Minneapolis
- Pillsbury United Communities, Brian Coyle Center, Minneapolis
- Pillsbury United Communities, Pillsbury House, Minneapolis
- Pillsbury United Communities, Waite House, Minneapolis
- The Real Minneapolis, Allina Commons, Minneapolis
- The Sanneh Foundation, Conway Community Center, St. Paul
- Vietnamese Social Services, St. Paul
- YMCA of the North @ Archdale Apartments, Minneapolis
- YMCA of the North @ Briarhill Apartments, Eden Prairie
- YMCA of the North @ Maple Pond Homes, Maplewood
- YMCA of the North @ Montreal Courts, Little Canada
- YMCA of the North @ St. Barnabas Apartments, Minneapolis