Community impact is at the heart of Comcast. We proudly invest in organizations that support and uplift our local communities through Project UP, our comprehensive initiative to advance digital equity, and Team UP, our national employee volunteer program.
Team UP events connect to our employees’ hearts and local communities all year round. Recently team members from our Women’s Network Employees Resource Group gathered on a Saturday in Sacramento to build homes for local families with Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program. Since 1991, Women Build volunteers have built stronger, safer communities across the country, empowering women and families with strength, stability, and independence.
Jeremiah Brown’s Journey
For Jeremiah Brown, Project Management Manager at Comcast, this Women Build event was a full circle moment. Jeremiah grew up in a Habitat for Humanity home, a home he and his family built with their community. In a recent interview with the Comcast California blog editorial staff, Jeremiah shared more about his Habitat for Humanity journey and the lasting imprint it made on his life.
You recently participated in Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build event in Sacramento with Comcast. Tell us more about your personal connection to the program.
My journey with Habitat for Humanity started when I was in 6th or 7th grade. My mom was selected for a Habitat for Humanity house when we were little. It’s so powerful to have an opportunity like that; it is lifechanging and helps young families purchase homes and build equity in those homes. I was a kid that got to do the framing and fencing of the home and write notes on the wood before they put up the drywall. I learned hands-on skills that I used to provide for myself later in college.
What impact did Habitat for Humanity have on your family?
The impact on not only myself, but my family was drastic. It brought my family into a better financial space. My mom is my superhero. As a single mom with 3 kids, she worked hard to provide for me and my brothers. To see her get help to vault her into homeownership will always be a special moment that changed our lives forever.
What are some of your favorite childhood memories of building your home?
We built every Saturday because there is a requirement for sweat equity hours. As a 12- to 13-year-old, I remember waking up excited each weekend to use hammers and power tools. I have this great picture of me setting a fence post, and I was assigned that same job during this Women Build event. It brought back so many memories. The job is hard work, but the payoff is so sweet because you realize this fence will last for decades. My parents live around the corner from the Habitat for Humanity house we grew up in. I still get to see that same fence every time I’m on the way to visit them.
What life lessons did you learn from building your family home with Habitat for Humanity?
I learned a new work ethic. Building a life for yourself involves sweat equity and hard work. Nothing is a handout, and if you want something, you must pave the way for those good things to happen. I learned this from watching my family spend every weekend building our home. I applied this lesson to my career, and I will always be grateful for it.
What was it like volunteering at the Women Build event in Sacramento?
I’m passionate about my local community in Sacramento. My wife and I have always wanted to live here, so we were intentional about interacting in the community when we moved to the area. Comcast focuses on doing what’s right for our communities. You don’t realize how special that can be until you’re out there interacting with people. Being able to volunteer on company time with an organization that impacted me and meet the families receiving a new home is a full circle moment.
How does it make you feel to be part of a company that gives back to their communities?
It’s the most important thing for me to work for a company that invests in the communities we live and work in and invests in organizations where we are represented. It’s special to work for a company like Comcast that prioritizes community investment in both big and small cities and fosters real connections with people of all walks of life.
Do you have any advice for people interested in volunteering?
Everybody has something to offer. Find that thing that gives you a little bit of life and search for an organization that provides an opportunity to make an impact. Get out there and use your skills to help others. We are human beings, and we are all in this together. You won’t regret giving back, so stop thinking about it and start doing it.
