Rarely a day goes by that Minzhi “Jay” Chen isn’t strategizing new ways to help his community here in Comcast’s hometown. Whether through a volunteer project for Comcast’s Asian Pacific American (APA) Employee Resource Group, which he helps lead, or as an ambassador for our Internet Essentials program helping to connect low-income Philadelphians to the internet at home, or by just brainstorming new ideas with colleagues to give back in the future.
Jay, an engineer for Xfinity Mobile, joined Comcast five years ago – and in 2019 alone he oversaw more than 700 volunteers contributing over 3,000 hours of service to help improve Philadelphia. Additionally, he volunteered time through the Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (APIA) College Scholarship Fund to review nearly 300 applications through an estimated 70 volunteer hours.
Jay is one of the many Comcast employees whose passion and commitment to their community enable our company to make a positive difference in so many ways. We are so proud that Jay’s standout efforts recently caught the eye of the Greater Philadelphia Corporate Volunteer Council, who recognized him with the Distinguished Corporate Volunteer Award during the 8th annual Mayor’s Day of Service Recognition Awards Ceremony. In total, there were 250 nominations that highlight the incredible work and service that takes place in Philadelphia.
“Jay embodies the spirit of volunteerism and service that is a core part of Comcast’s employee culture,” said Dalila Wilson-Scott, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for Comcast. “He not only has taken a leadership role in driving impact within Comcast’s corporate volunteer programs, but he has brought unique opportunities forth to engage other employees to get involved throughout the Philadelphia community.”
Leveraging the volunteer network, Jay has built to participate in community outreach and educational programs, he has also facilitated U.S. citizenship preparation tutors in partnership with the Indochinese American Council to host five, four-hour long sessions to help others with their citizenship tests. Jay is also committed to ensuring the success and growth of the Asian Mosaic Fund here in Philadelphia, as part of its executive committee.
What makes it all worth it is when he can see the impact of his efforts. One of Jay’s most memorable moments was returning to the site of a volunteer project from 2019, where members of the Asian-American Pacific employee resource group and their colleagues, friends and families cleaned up Trinity Christian Church of Greater Philadelphia. The event was part of Comcast Cares, an initiative that joins our whole company together for service opportunities to strengthen local communities.
“We actually built a playground from scratch, and now its really amazing to see the children play there when I go visit,” Jay said.
Learn more about Jay and his fellow honorees below: