Community Relations

By Best Buy Company News

18 Jun: Best Buy volunteers are happy to help in their communities

You know Best Buy employees as the people who can help you pick out the perfect piece of tech. They’re also people who help in their communities, doing things such as tutoring students, serving food and even checking coats.

In the Cincinnati area, employees from the seven Best Buy stores there volunteer in big numbers. They help out at everything from museum fairs and youth symposiums to 5K races and after-school programs.

“There are no limitations on our volunteer programs,” says Brian Stevens, who’s the administrative assistant for the Best Buy market that includes Cincinnati.

By Best Buy Community Relations Company News Uncategorized

08 Dec: Sending Our Thoughts to Those Impacted by California Wildfires

Like the rest of the country, we have been watching with horror the wildfires in Southern California. Our thoughts are, of course, with our employees, customers and communities affected.

While all employees are safe, too many have been impacted, including one who lost his apartment to the fires and more than two dozen who were forced to evacuate and remain uncertain about the fate of their homes. We are working with each of them to get them help.

At the same time, we’re looking to do what we can among those less fortunate communities we serve who are facing the effects of these fires.

Best Buy Teen Tech Center presented by Sony

By Best Buy Community Relations Company News

16 May: Best Buy, Sony Team Up to Give Teens Access to Technology

Anthony Sanchez, a high school sophomore, always dreamed of producing music with his friends. Now, thanks to Best Buy and Sony, he’ll be able to make music and much more.

The Best Buy Teen Tech Center presented by Sony officially opened on Monday, May 15. It has all the technology Anthony needs to feed his creativity while paving the way for college and a career. The center, housed at the San Marcos Boys & Girls Club about 35 miles outside of San Diego, is equipped with new computers, cameras and, yes, a recording studio.

By Best Buy Community Relations Company News

01 May: Best Buy Adds 4 Teen Tech Centers in Minnesota

Best Buy is growing its network of after-school tech programs for teens by adding four new locations in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

That makes for 15 Best Buy Teen Tech Centers across the United States. The free centers are open year-round and give underserved teens hands-on access to the latest technology.

The new Minnesota Teen Tech Centers are located at:

Brian Coyle Center (Minneapolis)
Hope Community (Minneapolis)
Keystone Community Services (St. Paul)
YMCA (Downtown St. Paul)

They join the existing Teen Tech Center at the Minneapolis Central Library, which has been operating since January 2013.

By Suzanne Hilker Community Relations Company News

18 Apr: Best Buy Community Grants Program Seeks Local Nonprofits Serving Teens

Best Buy is committed to providing underserved youth access to tech education and the tools necessary to be successful in their future careers. Part of this commitment includes funding local nonprofit organizations focused on after-school tech education. We are looking for organizations with a proven track record, and offering hands-on activities, to apply for our Community Grants program.

Nonprofits can take our eligibility quiz now and prepare to apply to the Best Buy Community Grants program. The program will award a total of up to $2 million to organizations across the country.

By Best Buy Community Relations Company News

19 Aug: Can You Build a Laptop? These Geek Squad Academy Kids Can

Curiosity, 90 minutes and a little help from adults were all it took for 300 students to build their own laptops during a Geek Squad Academy camp in Minneapolis this week.

The “Junior Agents” put together the Kano computer kits on Wednesday and programmed them on Thursday.

“This is the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life — a little keyboard that I get to keep,” said an 11-year-old named Devin. The laptops can do just about anything — from surfing the internet to playing games to word processing.

By Best Buy Community Relations Company News

15 Jul: HUD Secretary Julián Castro Marks First Anniversary of ConnectHome at Washington D.C.’s Best Buy Teen Tech Center

Bridging the digital divide has never been more fun for the 44 Washington, D.C.,-area youth who learned on Friday how to assemble computers for their personal use, thanks to the ConnectHome program, a White House initiative that is narrowing the digital divide for families in HUD-assisted housing.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro joined Best Buy and other ConnectHome organizations — including DC Housing Authority, GitHub, EveryoneOn and Kano — to celebrate the initiative’s one-year anniversary at the Best Buy Teen Tech Center in Washington, D.C.

By Kevin Flanagan Community Relations Company News PR News Alerts Sustainability

02 Jun: Applications for Best Buy Community Grants Are Now Being Accepted

It’s critical for teens to develop tech skills that will set them up for future career success. That’s why, once a year, the Best Buy Foundation provides grants to local nonprofits, schools and libraries to support hands-on, experiential tech education programs for underserved teens in communities where we do business.

Well, that time of year is here. We’re now accepting applications for Best Buy Community Grants.

If you’re an organization that has a proven track record of helping underserved teens gain 21^st-century tech skills during out-of-school hours, now is the time to apply.

By Best Buy Community Relations Company News PR News Alerts

28 Apr: Geek Squad Academy’s 10th Year of Summer Sessions Begin in May

Geek Squad Academy (GSA) is officially turning double digits! Entering its 10th year in 2016, GSA so far has inspired more than 30,000 kids from underserved communities to become the new generation of engineers, entrepreneurs, teachers, designers and dreamers.

The 2016 season kicks off on May 2 in Atlanta, Georgia, and will go coast-to-coast with more than 30 camps throughout summer and early fall. GSA works with local nonprofits and other organizations to provide much-needed technology education for students aged 10-18.

By Best Buy Community Relations Company News

25 Mar: Tech Success is Goal of Partnerships With Nonprofits, Government

Best Buy is bolstering its efforts this year to reduce the nation’s technology gap by giving grants to national nonprofit partners and participating in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) ConnectHome initiative.

“For 50 years, Best Buy has been a catalyst in the rise of technology as a means to improve virtually every aspect of our lives,” said Susan Bass Roberts, senior director of Community Relations, Diversity & Inclusion at Best Buy. “We are committed to giving underserved youth access to the tech training and tools they need to further their education and careers.

By Best Buy Community Relations Company News

09 Mar: Teen Tech Week: Best Buy, Geek Squad Teach Web Skills

More than 500 teens across the United States are learning the finer points of building websites with the help of Best Buy and Geek Squad volunteers during Teen Tech Week.

The classes are happening at 27 libraries in 22 states through Saturday, March 12. This year’s theme for Teen Tech Week is “Create it at your library.”

Geek Squad Academy’s “Web-Know How” is the foundation for the classes. Topics covered include:

Making websites by manipulating code through hands-on and guided online activities.

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