Best Buy customers contribute $5.5M to support Teen Tech Centers

By John Vomhof Jr. October 8, 2021

As part of Best Buy’s longstanding commitment to building brighter futures for teens through tech, we recently invited our customers to join us in that work — and, wow, did they ever deliver.

Between July 11 and Oct. 2, customers contributed more than $5.5 million to help support the Best Buy Teen Tech Center program. The campaign sought to educate customers about this initiative and allowed them to make a tax-deductible donation when making a purchase, including at a Best Buy store, BestBuy.com or the Best Buy App.

Last year, Best Buy committed to expanding the network of Teen Tech Centers from 41 locations nationwide to more than 100 by 2025. These customer contributions will allow us to go even further and faster, as we approach our goal of reaching more than 30,000 teens from disinvested communities each year.

“We are blown away by the overwhelming support of our customers and employees,” said Andrea Wood, Best Buy’s vice president of social impact. “Our commitment to improving tech equity among teens has never been more relevant than it is today, and we are so grateful to everyone who contributed to support this important work.”

Customer donations will support Teen Tech Centers through:

• Construction and startup costs for new locations.
• Cutting-edge technology to fill these creative environments.
• Salaries and benefits for the dedicated youth-development professionals who serve as mentors, coordinators and safe resources for the teens who visit Teen Tech Centers.
• Training and development that staff needs to learn and grow in their roles.
• Programming that supports teens’ career and post-secondary transitions.  

Part of the $5.5 million raised was through a partnership with Microsoft via a special promotion in which a portion of the sale from Surface devices was donated toward Teen Tech Centers.

More about Teen Tech Centers

We believe that anything is possible for today’s teens, but a lack of opportunity and access to tools and training makes it harder for many young people — especially those from disinvested communities — to reach their full potential.

Best Buy Teen Tech Center locations seek to address that by providing safe after-school spaces where teens can get hands-on experience with technology, training and mentorship. Students are encouraged to explore their interests and passions in areas such as robotics, photography, music and film production, with the ultimate goal of providing opportunities that prepare them for careers of the future.

To learn more about Best Buy Teen Tech Centers, visit bestbuyfoundation.org/teentechcenter.