Comcast Internet $9.95/mo if your kids receive free lunch

[Free4Life11]

http://internetessentials.com/index.html

A household is eligible to participate in Internet Essentials if it meets all of the following criteria:

Is located where Comcast offers Internet service
- Has at least one child receiving free school lunches through the National School Lunch Program
- Has not subscribed to Comcast Internet service within the last 90 days
- Does not have an overdue Comcast bill or unreturned equipment

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

What a great community program! I think this is a wonderful idea to help people now that it's becoming common for kids to NEED internet for school success.

 

[ellone]

What a great community program! I think this is a wonderful idea to help people now that it's becoming common for kids to NEED internet for school success.

Before you start thinking they are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, they were REQUIRED to offer this for the Comcast/NBC deal to go through. So they are doing it because they were forced to. And they can increase rates for regular subscribers to pay for this - nice, eh?

 

[BBandDisney]

 

[Free4Life11]

And they can increase rates for regular subscribers to pay for this - nice, eh?

See I'd rather KNOW what is causing a rate hike as opposed to the random "no explanation" rate hikes Comcast normally does every year.

 

[kaytieeldr]

And they can increase rates for regular subscribers to pay for this - nice, eh?

Difference between 'can' and 'will'.

 

[dodukes]

Difference between 'can' and 'will'.

They just announced this in our area as well. I am sure "will" will be more likely as they are not going to eat the cost of this. Once again, the regular folk who can hardly keep up have to pay for everyone else.

 

[Colleen27]

Before you start thinking they are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, they were REQUIRED to offer this for the Comcast/NBC deal to go through. So they are doing it because they were forced to. And they can increase rates for regular subscribers to pay for this - nice, eh?

Comcast increases rates for subscribers every year regardless. We dumped them because our bill was going up $10-20/year each and every year, until we were paying $150 for the same services that cost a little under $100 when we signed up with them in '05 (not counting the new customer promo rate, which was much lower still). It is nice to see they're putting some of that to good use, forced or not, and I'm sure it will generate no small amount of goodwill with customers who don't realize they have to do it as well as customer loyalty with those who benefit.

 

[Colleen27]

They just announced this in our area as well. I am sure "will" will be more likely as they are not going to eat the cost of this. Once again, the regular folk who can hardly keep up have to pay for everyone else.

I cannot imagine being worried/upset over the potential for paying a few cents more for a luxury when the reason is so that poor kids can have a better educational/technological foundation. This isn't a tax. Don't like it, drop Comcast for one of their competitors.

 

[Disneyliscious]

They just announced this in our area as well. I am sure "will" will be more likely as they are not going to eat the cost of this. Once again, the regular folk who can hardly keep up have to pay for everyone else.

If you "can hardly keep up" maybe you shouldn't be paying Comcast for whatever service you have with them. No one forces you to buy into their service. It is a choice.

And can you explain to me the difference in "regular folk" and "non regular folk"? Is that something thats based on income now?

 

[torinsmom]

So, how are kids that qualify for free lunch getting the computers to use for the internet? Most of the kids on free lunch I know don't even have books to read at home, much less a computer that is capable of running high speed internet As a matter of fact, there are plenty of kids who don't qualify for free lunch who don't have a computer in the home.

 

[Disneyliscious]

So, how are kids that qualify for free lunch getting the computers to use for the internet? Most of the kids on free lunch I know don't even have books to read at home, much less a computer that is capable of running high speed internet As a matter of fact, there are plenty of kids who don't qualify for free lunch who don't have a computer in the home.

Every year the schools send home information packets for me to complete on my kids. Even free lunch forms are included. My kids started school on the 4th so I am sitting here looking at the income chart for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program.

Federal Eligibility Income Chart for School Year 2011-2102

A family of 3 (the size of my household) is able to make $34,281 per year, $2,857 a month, $1,319 every two weeks, or $660 a week and be eligible for free or reduced lunches. I don't think it would be too hard for someone on that income to afford a $250 Walmart computer to assist their kids in school work. You can even find them cheaper at pawn shops. I have seen computers at Goodwill for less than $100.

Also, computers last for years. It could have been purchased before a parent lost a job or the reduction in income took effect. The computer could have been given as a gift. A high school student could have worked part time at McDonalds and saved for a computer.

I mean, its not hard really. Computers are not expensive anymore. Not everyone has to have a computer with all the bells and whistles. A family having a computer does not denote wealth.

 

[Colleen27]

So, how are kids that qualify for free lunch getting the computers to use for the internet? Most of the kids on free lunch I know don't even have books to read at home, much less a computer that is capable of running high speed internet As a matter of fact, there are plenty of kids who don't qualify for free lunch who don't have a computer in the home.

The free/reduced lunch guidelines are intended to include the working poor/lower middle class, not just the very poor. Most families on the program aren't living in abject poverty, but they're at the paycheck-to-paycheck income level that doesn't leave room for a lot of extra monthly bills. A computer can be managed as a Christmas gift, with a bonus check, or saved up for over several months, but fitting $50+ for broadband into the budget each and every month often isn't doable.

Best Buy has computer packages starting at $400. Used systems that are still perfectly adequate for internet and schoolwork can be had for less than half that, and sometimes even for free. It doesn't take much of a computer to handle basic web and office applications; my kids were still using a Win '98 machine in their playroom until we upgraded my computer last year (and we Freecycled that old machine to a mom who was looking for a basic computer for her kids to use for schoolwork). And as part of this initiative Comcast is offering a $150 computer to families who enroll.

About a third of the students at my kids' schools are free/reduced lunch eligible. I think those are the students that will benefit most from this program - not the inner city poor whose teachers all know they can't assign projects that require a computer or internet access but rather students from lower income families who attend good school districts where sometimes assumptions are made about kids' access to the internet. On average my kids have 3-4 projects a year that require internet research, and I know DS's best friend has had a hard time with certain projects because of that. Now he just comes over to use our spare/kid computer but when he was trying to get schoolwork done within the strict internet use time limits and content filters at the library it was terribly difficult. They have a computer, bought before their parents' divorce and still good enough, and I already printed off the flyer from the Comcast site to pass on to their mom because I know all 4 boys would benefit from being able to afford internet access.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I cannot imagine being worried/upset over the potential for paying a few cents more for a luxury when the reason is so that poor kids can have a better educational/technological foundation. This isn't a tax. Don't like it, drop Comcast for one of their competitors.

I agree. I don't think children from lower income families should feel penalized for not having access to the internet. I don't have comcast, but if I did I would not switch providers because of this, forced or not, I'm glad to be able to help another child have the same advantages as my children.

This reminds me of a facebook posts from one of my friends the other day, he was upset because his child's supply list included more than one pair of scissors and he is not "buying supplies for the whole class". I shop the back to school ads and am always happy to throw an extra couple packages of supplies, usually under .50, into my cart to help out the teacher. I try to teach my kids that being community minded means helping others when it's feasible, not just looking out for ourselves. If more people thought this way the teacher probably wouldn't have found it necessary to put it on the supply list to try to get more to help out.

 

[satorifound]

I think it is awesome that they are offering this and I do not mind paying a couple dollars more so that someone who can't afford the $45 for cable internet can have it. Now we just need to work on a program to get computers to the truly underpriveledged kids too.

 

[angwill]

They just announced this in our area as well. I am sure "will" will be more likely as they are not going to eat the cost of this. Once again, the regular folk who can hardly keep up have to pay for everyone else.

You can always quit your job and go on welfare and get it free too so your not stuck having to pay for it for everyone else whoever that is. lol

 

[patsal]

Public libraries have computers and internet service.

 

[torinsmom]

Every year the schools send home information packets for me to complete on my kids. Even free lunch forms are included. My kids started school on the 4th so I am sitting here looking at the income chart for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program.

Federal Eligibility Income Chart for School Year 2011-2102

A family of 3 (the size of my household) is able to make $34,281 per year, $2,857 a month, $1,319 every two weeks, or $660 a week and be eligible for free or reduced lunches. I don't think it would be too hard for someone on that income to afford a $250 Walmart computer to assist their kids in school work. You can even find them cheaper at pawn shops. I have seen computers at Goodwill for less than $100.

Also, computers last for years. It could have been purchased before a parent lost a job or the reduction in income took effect. The computer could have been given as a gift. A high school student could have worked part time at McDonalds and saved for a computer.

I mean, its not hard really. Computers are not expensive anymore. Not everyone has to have a computer with all the bells and whistles. A family having a computer does not denote wealth.

The guidelines are to get free OR REDUCED lunch. The upper limits of the income requirements are for reduced lunch and it sounds like this is just for those with free lunch. Unfortunately, we have two types of families who qualify for free lunch at our school. The first type is barely getting by but working there butts off and there is no way they will ever have enough extra money to buy even a second hand computer. Honestly, I have no problem with the first type being helped by this program and just wish that there were organizations that would supply them with computers as well. The second type lives off the gov't and I think this will just make them feel more entitled. Unfortunately, they are the ones who will benefit from it.

 

[Colleen27]

Public libraries have computers and internet service.

True, but they also have a limited number of terminals, limited hours, and, in our county at least, strict time limits (no more than 60min per day) and even stricter web filters. A child of working parents who is in after-school care until after 5 wouldn't even have a chance to use the library during the week, and there are two library branches in the 125sq miles our school system covers. That's hardly adequate access for all the children of families who can't afford to have access at home, particularly since far more content is blocked than allowed.

It used to be that parents could give written consent and have their kids' library cards modified to "adult" limits (still somewhat filtered but only at the extremes, ie no porn) but they did away with that option. The "child" limits even block Webkinz and sections of the Disney site, and using Google is an exercise in frustration because more links are blocked than will open even when researching something as innocuous as lighthouses (BTDT; DD9 gave up on using the library for internet during the week we were without when a lightning strike fried our modem).

 

[Colleen27]

The guidelines are to get free OR REDUCED lunch. The upper limits of the income requirements are for reduced lunch and it sounds like this is just for those with free lunch. Unfortunately, we have two types of families who qualify for free lunch at our school. The first type is barely getting by but working there butts off and there is no way they will ever have enough extra money to buy even a second hand computer. Honestly, I have no problem with the first type being helped by this program and just wish that there were organizations that would supply them with computers as well. The second type lives off the gov't and I think this will just make them feel more entitled. Unfortunately, they are the ones who will benefit from it.

I suppose that like any program where the guidelines are federal, it depends on cost of living. I know quite a few families that qualify for free lunch who do okay in our affordable area; they aren't taking Disney vacations or paying for expanded cable or broadband internet or cell phone data plans, but they're making ends meet with enough left over to have a few bucks set aside for car repairs, decent Christmas gifts, and maybe even camping vacations every now and then. A $200-300 one-time expense would be manageable with some planning/rearranging of the budget, but $600+ every year for broadband isn't.