The Comcast Foundation, founded in 1999 to provide charitable support to its local communities and to empower and enrich lives, is awarding Belen Osman of Freedom High School and Yossra Hamid of Gar-Field High School with scholarships through its annual Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program.  Osman and Hamid are among 53 Virginia students receiving scholarships this year through the program, which recognizes students’ leadership skills, academic achievement and commitment to community service.

Comcast was joined by Virginia State Senator Walter Stosch to recognize the students at a special event held at the State Capitol in Richmond on May 2. A total of $62,000 in scholarships has been awarded to Virginia students this year.

“It is important that our young people are provided equal access to quality education in order to gain the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive job market,” said Senator Stosch.  “I commend Comcast for helping these fine students from across the state to achieve their dreams of higher education.”

“Comcast is dedicated to providing our leaders of tomorrow not only with the support they need to succeed academically and professionally, but with opportunities to serve as catalysts for positive change in our communities,” said Tom Coughlin, regional senior vice president for Comcast.  “It is an honor to recognize these outstanding students for their achievements across the board, and we wish them the best in their future endeavors.”

The Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program provides one-time $1,000 scholarships to students who strive to achieve their potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students.  The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to be prepared for the future, to engage youth in their communities, and to demonstrate the importance of civic involvement, and the value placed on civic involvement by the business community.

Since the program’s inception there have been over 17,000 scholarship winners totaling more than $17.2 million.