The Comcast Foundation, founded in 1999 to provide charitable support to its local communities and to empower and enrich lives, today announced the 2011 recipients of its annual Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program. Among the winners are Michaela Lariscy, a student from South Effingham High School and Hillary Usher, a student from Effingham County High School.

“Comcast is proud of its Leaders and Achievers scholarship recipients. They represent some of the best and brightest high school seniors who also demonstrate civic involvement in the communities we serve across the state,” said Andy Macke, vice president of government and community affairs for Comcast’s Atlanta region. “We are thrilled to support their educational efforts with these scholarships.”

“The Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program honors some of our state’s most dedicated students,” said Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens. “I’m proud to join Comcast in celebrating the academic and civic achievements of our local winners, and I thank them for the impact they have made on the state of Georgia.”

The Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program provides one-time $1000 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 15,000 scholarship winners totaling more than $15.4 million.