Digital Divide

Conn.-MN-scaled

30 Jun: Best Buy Joins New Partnership To Bring Tech, Internet To Minnesota Students

Best Buy is teaming up with other prominent Minnesota organizations to help fight the digital divide across the state.

We’re proud to be one of the leaders of the Partnership for a ConnectedMN, a public-private partnership announced by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on June 30. Through avenues like grantmaking, the partnership will support initiatives that help K-12 students from disinvested communities across the state of Minnesota get access to the computing devices and internet access they need to facilitate distance learning and access critical support services.

Best Buy - Minnesota

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.

CR community grants

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 21st-century tech skills during out-of-school hours, now is the time to apply.

Best Buy partnerships

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.

Best Buy digital divide

17 Mar: Helping to Bridge the Nation’s Digital Divide in 2016

Despite incredible advances in technology to help Americans connect, interact and learn, more and more young people are being left behind as the digital divide persists.

Youth from underserved communities and lower-income families often lack access to tech tools like computers and Internet connections — along with training in how to use them. This creates a very real challenge for preparing the next generation of talent our country needs to compete and succeed in a global economy.

Best Buy is intensifying efforts this year to confront the technology gap through expanded programs that help underserved young people develop the skills they need to be successful in school and in their future careers.

LA

23 Sep: Best Buy and OurCycle LA Bridge Digital Divide for Los Angeles Families

The goal was bridging the digital gap for families, but the theme was empowerment at Dorsey High School in Los Angeles on Sept. 19.

Several families, with help from Best Buy employees, were trained on basic computer skills and went home with something they didn’t have before – Internet connectivity and a computer.

Best Buy partnered with OurCycle LA, a City of Los Angeles digital inclusion pilot program geared at providing free refurbished computers and training to low-income families in Los Angeles.