Recently over 40 veterans, servicemembers and their families received free laptops thanks to a local partnership between the King County Veterans Program (KCVP), Comcast, and Operation Military Family (OMF). The event, which took place at KCVP’s Tukwila office, provided veterans with over 40 free laptops donated by Comcast, a donation totaling over $15,000. For the event, KCVP Social Service Professionals identified qualifying veterans in need of the connection to the internet and the online resources a laptop can provide. Laptops support veterans, servicemembers, and their families in accessing digital health appointments, virtual mental health counseling appointments, employment resources such as the ability to search for employment opportunities, create a resume and attend virtual job interviews, and laptops can help veterans have a personal email or phone number that can support access to benefits and resources and their ability to stay connected to family, friends, and community. One veteran shared that receiving the laptop will enable her to help her children with their homework, a resource she was previously without.  

“The King County Veterans Program not only serves over 2,000 King County veterans a year providing housing connections, mental health counseling, employment resources, wellness supports and more, but continually seeks to build relationships with public, nonprofit, and private sector partners to create a strong interconnected web of services to best meet the evolving needs of veterans in King County. King County’s veterans, servicemembers and their families have given so much to our community, this event helped many veterans get necessary equipment to access telehealth, employment, benefit claims, and family supports.” 

-Megan Stanley, King County Veterans Administrator

Xfinity volunteers from Comcast were onsite to help veterans set up their computers, create online accounts, and to help veterans sign up for Comcast’s Internet Essentials Program which provides free digital literacy training resources and connection to free or low-cost internet. 

“The opportunity to deliver laptops to veterans in-person and let them know about how they can connect to the internet affordably is something I always love to do. We are lucky to have so many veterans in King County and to work with local organizations like Operation Military Family who are dedicated to advancing digital equity for veterans, and their families,” said Carla Carrell, Senior Director of Digital Equity at Comcast. 

OMF receives 100 donated laptops from Comcast every year. OMF then partners with KCVP to provide the donated laptops for the distribution event. The event, which started last year, distributed 10 laptops to veterans, servicemembers and their families in 2022. Seeing such impact and need last year, the event continued in 2023, and OMF increased their donation to over 40 laptops for this year’s event. 

“We change the world one person at a time. This event was a perfect example of how lives can be impacted for the better when private industry, the public sector, and nonprofits work together. We are more effective when we pool resources and talent together to solve community issues,” shared Mike Schindler, Founder and CEO of Operation Military Family.