Best Buy is forging ahead with the rapid expansion of its Teen Tech Center program, announcing five new locations that will open in 2020.
We’re adding a location in Los Angeles, where we opened one in 2016. We’ll also open our first locations in El Paso, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Portland, Oregon; and San Jose, California.
Teen Tech Centers are free, interactive learning spaces where teens can explore technology and learn how to use it with the help of other teens and adult mentors. They’re key to our broader effort to help teens in underserved communities prepare for the tech-related jobs of our modern economy.
We currently have 29 Teen Tech Center locations nationwide, following last week’s opening in Hartford, Connecticut. That puts us nearly halfway toward our goal of expanding to 60 by the end of 2020.
Each Teen Tech Center serves about 250 to 300 teens a year, and when we reach 60 centers next year, we’ll serve a total of nearly 20,000 teens annually. Through our Best Buy Career Pathways program, 2,000 young people a year will receive post-high school career readiness support, including scholarship and internship opportunities, along with career mentorship. We hope to offer that program to all 60 Teen Tech Centers by 2020.
“We’re constantly amazed and inspired by the collaboration we enjoy with our partners – foundations, nonprofits and vendors,” said Andrea Wood, head of social impact for Best Buy. “It’s remarkable how our collective interest brings us together to change the lives of our young people in ways that none of us could achieve on our own.”
Coming soon
Here’s a closer look at the new locations that are scheduled to open in 2020.
- El Paso, Texas
- Location: Project Vida
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Location: Kansas City Public Library
- Los Angeles
- Location: Legacy LA
- Portland, Oregon
- Location: Oregon Museum of Science & Industry
- San Jose, California
- Location: Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA)
Click here to learn more about Best Buy Teen Tech Centers and to find a list of locations.