Teens and tech

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11 Mar: Community Nonprofits Awarded $2.35M to Advance Digital Equity for Students

Partnership for a ConnectedMN and the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity (MBCRE), two organizations Best Buy is proud to support, have collaborated to award $2.35 million in grants to local nonprofits committed to advancing digital equity for Minnesota students.

The 29 organizations selected are focused on enhancing digital learning for K-12 students who are Black, Indigenous or people of color by providing devices, connectivity and other support services. A full list of grant recipients and more information on the grant process can be found here

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06 Nov: 5 ways Teen Tech Centers help bridge the gap in STEAM

We love tech, and we’re committed to sharing that love with teens who might otherwise not have access.

Best Buy first launched Teen Tech Centers in 2012 to help teens from disinvested communities explore technology. Since then, we’ve opened 35 Teen Tech Centers across the country, with plans to expand to more than 100 in the next five years.

These are places where teens can develop critical skills through hands-on activities that explore their interests in programming, filmmaking, music production and design.

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06 Nov: In pandemic, partners help get tech to teens

From access to software to learning the latest tech, Best Buy Teen Tech Centers are helping address the opportunity gap for teens in disinvested communities.

We know we can’t do it alone, so we work with a range of partners across the country — including a number of our vendor partners — to empower youth with the technology and tools they need to thrive now and in the future.  

“What we’re trying to do with our Teen Tech Centers and Career Pathways programs is really to help build brighter futures for teens,” said Andrea Wood, vice president of social impact.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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15 May: Best Buy Provides Free Tech Classes For Kids At Home

As students face a summer of being homebound because of COVID-19, they (and their parents) are actively looking for new opportunities to learn, explore and grow.

Best Buy is here to help.

Our Geek Squad Agents have created a suite of free online courses that are designed to ignite kids’ creativity and teach them new tech skills. Inspired by our popular Geek Squad Academy summer camps, the curriculum includes topics such as smartphone photography, binary code and how to build video games and websites.

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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.

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10 Feb: Best Buy’s Career Pathways program propels teens to tomorrow’s careers — today

In New Orleans — a city steeped in music and the birthplace of jazz — a Best Buy Teen Tech Center is honoring the town’s rich musical tradition by helping up-and-coming artists shine. How? By giving them the tools to turn passion into profession.

Each week, Raymie Wolfe meets with a group of local teens and helps them take a deep dive into electronic music production, video creation and audio engineering. By following a curriculum developed through a partnership with the GRAMMY MUSEUM, the teens are able to earn industry-level certifications in audio production, as well as become proficient in using industry-standard tools and recording equipment.

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27 Sep: Teen Tech Center alumni carry passion on to college

Juanluis Monje has always had a creative streak, ranging from painting to drawing to making video games.

In high school, he started going to the Best Buy Teen Tech Center in suburban Denver. It had all kinds of cutting-edge technology, including 3D printing, virtual reality, music production and robotics. What he found was a way to give some structure to that creativity and passion.

“The Teen Tech Center gave me all of the design tools, like Photoshop and Illustrator, which sparked my interest in design,” he said.

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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.