Breezeline Launches Community Impact Program Promoting Digital Literacy and Responsible Use of Technology

Program also supports online safety and STEM initiatives for young women

Breezeline, the nation’s eighth-largest cable operator, is pleased to announce a series of online community education initiatives designed to foster digital literacy and equity while supporting online safety, a healthy tech-life balance, as well as promoting technology careers for young people.

Recognizing the great benefits that internet connectivity provides, but also mindful that not all members of the community currently share in its benefits equally, and seeking to foster the responsible use of technology, Breezeline is supporting more than a half-dozen non-profit organizations to promote these objectives in its communities. These include:

• Digital Literacy for Seniors: Breezeline has partnered with Cyber-Seniors to create free, educational webinars teaching digital literacy basics for senior citizens. Cyber Seniors also provides free, live, one-on-one sessions to help device users become more tech savvy.
• Tech Life Balance: Breezeline has partnered with The Digital Wellness Lab (DWL), which is composed of medical doctors, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, and research scientists at Boston Children’s Hospital who are working to understand and promote wellness in the digital age. With DWL, Breezeline will present short videos, webinars, and social media content to help parents understand the impact of media on their children and the practical steps they can take to mitigate its effects.
• Cyber-Bullying Prevention: Breezeline has partnered with Pacer Center’s National Bullying Prevention Center to create cyberbullying prevention resources to distribute to schools and families during National Bullying Prevention Month in October and throughout the year.
• Online Safety: Breezeline has partnered with CyberSecurity Non-Profit (CSNP) to create short videos, blogs, and social posts to inform and educate the public on ways to protect against cybercrime and to promote online safety.
• STEM for Girls: Breezeline is supporting Code/Art’s annual coding festival and national coding competition, as well as regional coding clubs across the U.S. Code/Art is focused on closing the gender gap in technology by creating coding programs for girls in grades 3-12, inspiring girls to pursue computer science, and helping to change society’s view of what a coder looks like.
• Promoting Tech Careers: The Interactive Case Competition challenges teams of graduate business students to solve real-life case studies pertaining to the cable industry. As the lead sponsor in the spring fall competitions, Breezeline senior leaders serve as judges and mentors, while sponsorship dollars go to the winning student teams as prize money to support their education. More than 40 percent of students go on to pursue tech careers.

“Breezeline is committed to using advanced technology to connect homes, education, health care, businesses and communities to everything that is important to them,” said Frank van der Post, President of Breezeline. “We know the tremendous benefits of online connectivity, but with this comes the responsibility to promote its right and safe use, while ensuring that all segments of our communities have access to connectivity in this digital age.”

Breezeline is committed each year to donating at least 1 percent of its pre-tax profits to community-based support. In its last fiscal year, Breezeline contributed more than $5 million in its support of community initiatives.

ABOUT BREEZELINE

Cogeco US, operating as Breezeline, a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX: CCA), is the eighth-largest cable operator in the United States. The company provides its residential and business customers with Internet, TV and Voice services in 12 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Cogeco Communications Inc. also operates in Québec and Ontario, in Canada, under the Cogeco Connexion name. Cogeco Inc.’s subsidiary, Cogeco Media, owns and operates 21 radio stations as well as a news agency serving audiences primarily in the province of Québec.

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Katherine McCoid Breezeline [e-mail] [e-mail]