Social Impact

By Suzanne Hilker Company News Sustainability

02 Dec: Best Buy Earns Top Retailer on Newsweek Most Responsible Companies List

Best Buy has been named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies 2021, and we’re proud to be the top retailer on the list.

We jumped to No. 22 in the ranking, up from No. 53 last year. We earned a score of 87.3 out of 100, just a few points back from the top score of 93.2.

Being included on the list demonstrates our commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainability. The pandemic has underscored the need to focus on the issues most important to our stakeholders while keeping our customers, employees and customers safe.

By Best Buy Lifestyle

22 Oct: Teen Tech Center youth design PopSockets for a cause

This summer, 17-year-old Joe Hernandez had an opportunity to design his own PopSockets PopGrip, and make his voice heard at the same time.

Joe’s design, a raised black fist on the background of a Pride flag, represents the importance of looking at activism through the lens of intersectionality — something he learned by having friends in the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities.

“I thought it would be a good idea to try and show that equality is more than just a few steps in one direction,” he said.

By Ale Valeriano Company News

12 Oct: With $100M Raised for St. Jude, Best Buy Invites Community to Fight Childhood Cancer

Since Best Buy began participating in the St. Jude Thanks and Giving® campaign eight years ago, we have proven that when a community comes together, amazing things can happen.

The St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign is back at Best Buy, and starting Oct. 12, we are asking our employees and customers to come together once again to fight childhood cancer.

We are inviting customers to donate at the registers in every Best Buy store, online at BestBuy.com and during in-home service visits.

By Ale Valeriano Company News

23 Sep: ConnectedMN Awards $2.1M In Grants To Minnesota Organizations

As a founding partner in the Partnership for a ConnectedMN, Best Buy is proud to announce that $2.1 million has been awarded in grants to 23 organizations that provide support to students in urban and rural communities across the state.

ConnectedMN, a public-private partnership announced by Gov. Tim Walz in June, aims to address digital inequities facing Minnesota students by helping meet the technology and connectivity needs of families with school-aged children. This first round of grants will help an estimated 68,000 students by providing access to the computing devices and internet that is essential for distance learning and accessing critical support services.

By Best Buy Lifestyle

17 Jul: Teen Tech Center Alumni Committed To ‘Spreading Love’

Just days after George Floyd was senselessly killed in Minneapolis, Elizya Powell and Alexander Cash were making music when they had a realization: They could use their voices in a different way.

So they got up, made signs and started a protest to raise awareness around racial injustice.

They marched through Pittsburgh and handed out water bottles to police. Within a few hours, a crowd of 40 to 50 people had formed.

“We wanted to show how it should be done without it getting violent and send a message at the same time.

By Natalie Albers Lifestyle

08 Jul: Best Buy, Google Help Canadian Seniors Connect With Loved Ones

Living in a pandemic is challenging. For many, the hardest part is being separated from loved ones.

With social distancing practices widely recommended to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a sense of isolation and loneliness can set in — especially for those who dwell in senior living communities. In many areas, visits from friends and family are temporarily prohibited or greatly restricted.

Best Buy and Google recognized this and knew technology could help people stay connected while apart. So, they teamed up to donate Google Nest Hub Max devices to more than 300 private and public senior living residences across Canada.

By Ale Valeriano Company News

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.

By Jessica Moes Company News

30 Apr: Despite COVID-19, Best Buy’s Commitment To Teens And Tech Remains Strong

Best Buy is committed to helping teens from disinvested communities build brighter futures, and that has only become more important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s why we’re continuing to ensure teens and the organizations that serve them have access to the technology, training and mentorship they need to learn and grow. We’re doing that by donating millions of dollars in funding for local nonprofits and providing teens with the tech they need to stay connected during this time.

“Now, more than ever, we’re seeing technology is essential for helping young people learn and stay connected,” said Andrea Wood, Best Buy’s head of social impact.

By Suzanne Hilker Company News Sustainability

03 Dec: Best Buy named to Newsweek’s Most Responsible Companies list

Best Buy landed at No. 53 on America’s Most Responsible Companies list, published by Newsweek. In the first year of the ranking, we earned the third-highest score among retailers.

Being a responsible company has been a focus of Best Buy for more than a decade. We believe in taking care of the environment, treating people well and helping our communities stay strong. We are proud of the milestones we have reached so far, such as collecting more than 2 billion pounds of e-waste for recycling.

By Natalie Albers Community Relations Lifestyle Sustainability

17 Sep: Best Buy Community Grants bring career possibilities into focus

When Lesly Tobon first looked down the lens of a professional camera, something within her clicked. She began to get curious about the things on the other side of the lens, a fascination that developed into a college major and career aspirations she might not otherwise have imagined.

Because of the dedication of nonprofit organizations like The Friends of EXPO Center — where Lesly first got to test out camera technology — and the financial support of Best Buy Community Grants, she and thousands of students like her get to open doors that help them see what’s possible.

By Chris Havens Community Relations Lifestyle Sustainability

12 Sep: Detroit teens build community through technology

DETROIT — Earlier this summer, a group of teens fanned out across southwest Detroit with an assignment: Make a video that celebrates their neighborhood using every letter from A to Z.

So, they split up and illustrated landmarks by letter. For instance, C is for Clark Park. Then they took photos and video, learned how to do voice-overs and recorded them at the Best Buy Teen Tech Center. They’ll edit and aim to complete the video this fall.

“Once you get them going, they’ll learn and teach me,” said Francisco “Cisco” Tinoco, the center’s coordinator and ABC project assigner.

By John Vomhof Jr. Company News

30 Apr: Best Buy Picks Sites for Next 5 Teen Tech Centers

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.

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