Comcast brings free Wi-Fi to 15 Baltimore community centers

Comcast is launching a free Wi-Fi initiative in community centers in the DC, Baltimore and Virginia area that the comms giant dubs “Lift Zones.”

Community members will be able to come to these buildings to use free internet. It’s an approach to extend internet access in communities that need more access in the pandemic that’s similar to what we’ve seen with Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Drive In Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi hot spots throughout the city.

In Baltimore, there will be 15 locations. Among them is Union Baptist Church’s Harvey Johnson Community Center. We’ve noted the church has an adjacent cyber center in West Baltimore’s Upton neighborhood.

“We know that our youth and their parents have a fundamental need for access to crucial resources and Lift Zones will help bridge the gap when at-home Wi-Fi connectivity may not be available,” Rev. Dr. Alvin C. Hathaway, Sr., senior pastor of Union Baptist Church said in a statement.

The 15 Baltimore Lift Zones are:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore – Brooklyn O’Malley
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore – O’Donnell Heights
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore – Webster M. Kendricks
• Boys &Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore – Westport Homes
• Carroll F. Cook Recreation Center
• Y After-School Enrichment at Goodnow
• Greenmount West Community Center
• Harvey Johnson Community Center at Union Baptist Church
• Herring Run Recreation Center
• Langston Hughes Community, Business and Resource Center in Park Heights
• Mora Crossman Recreation Center
• North Harford Recreation Center, an E-Sports Facility
• Oliver Recreation Center
• The Club at Collington Square
• The Weinberg Y in Waverly

Donte Kirby is a 2020-2022 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.