Best Buy to Confront the Opportunity Gap by Nearly Doubling Its Teen Tech Center Network in Support of Underserved Urban Youth
December 13 2016 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
- Best Buy issues call-for-entries to
open nine new Teen Tech Centers in 2017, expanding national network
to 20 locations in challenged urban communities
- Year-round training will reach
thousands more underserved teens, helping them leverage
technology for a wide variety of future career
paths
- Accelerated outreach effort
addresses projections that 77 percent of all jobs will require tech
skills in coming decade
More of the nation’s underserved teens will have access to free
technology tools and training as Best Buy today announces plans to
add nine new Best Buy Teen Tech Centers to its year-round support
network in 2017. The announcement was made just as the company
officially opens its newest Teen Tech Center in Denver, Colorado
today.
The expanded network of 20 Teen Tech Centers will provide tech
education to thousands of students, with special priority for new
centers to be located in urban cities such as Las Vegas and
Pittsburgh. Plans are already underway to open centers in early
2017 in Atlanta and San Diego.
In the coming decade, 77 percent of all jobs will require
technology skills.1 Yet wide disparities still exist among youth
from lower-income families who lack tools like computers and
internet connections, or know how to use them, creating an
opportunity gap for urban teens.
“These community centers will provide underserved young people
with the technology tools and education that enable them to pursue
new career paths for a tech-reliant future,” said Laura Bishop,
vice president of public affairs and sustainability at Best Buy.
“With help from our community partners, we can inspire teens to
become innovators and creators, and forever change the course of
their lives for the better.”
Best Buy Teen Tech Centers provide opportunity for young
people needing it mostFor more than a decade, Best Buy has
provided access to tech tools and training for hundreds of
thousands of low-income youth through community grants and
partnerships with local nonprofits to host the free, year-round
facilities and summer camps. Teen Tech Centers, which launched
in 2012, help students learn basic computer skills and explore
interests through classes that are neither taught nor required in
many traditional school settings. Classes range from programming to
coding, application development, digital photography, music and
graphic design.
Devonte Gooding, a 20-year-old Teen Tech Center alumnus from
Washington, D.C., advanced his photography skills during his time
at a local center and it forever changed his future. “My time at
Best Buy’s Teen Tech Center inspired me to go after a career I
never thought possible,” Gooding said. After a chance meeting with
a government official at an art auction that sold one of his
photos, he now holds the first-ever photo internship with the U.S.
Department of Energy and is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in
graphic design.
In a recent study of students who participated in Teen Tech
Centers, 92 percent believe they will use the skills acquired in
their future careers, and 94 percent plan to continue their
education post-high school.2
The growing national network of Teen Tech Centers relies on
local nonprofit partners who understand the unique challenges that
youth in urban areas face. Best Buy is seeking organizations
passionate about helping youth develop skills needed in a
tech-reliant future as they navigate education and career choices.
Organizations are invited to find out more about hosting a Best Buy
Teen Tech Center by visiting theclubhousenetwork.org/bestbuy.
Best Buy taps Geek Squad Agents to create new
curriculumAs technology evolves, so do the requirements for
advancing career potential. Best Buy’s Geek Squad Agents ensure
underserved youth stay ahead of trends by employing new curricula
each year that align with passions like digital filmmaking, 3D
design, HTML coding and circuitry, and others.
For example, in 2017, a new pixel art curriculum will be
introduced across all Teen Tech Centers. Teens will learn how to
create original pixel art and animation, beginning with the design
of a character. The basic principles of coding are inherently part
of this curriculum, providing teens with skills that lay the
foundation for a variety of careers.
About Best Buy Community RelationsSince 1995, Best Buy
has invested nearly $300 million in the communities it serves. In
the past five years, the company concentrated its focus on giving
support to programs that leverage technology to inspire and engage
underserved teens, and to help them prepare for college and
careers. This commitment to addressing the opportunity gap among
underserved youth is exemplified through programs such as Geek
Squad Academy and 11 Best Buy Teen Tech Centers now operating in
Bellevue, Washington; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Jersey City, New
Jersey; Los Angeles; Miami; Minneapolis; Oakland; San Antonio; and
Washington, D.C.
1. IDC Research2. Youth Impact Survey, 2015
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Best BuyPaula Baldwin, 612-231-5146Paula.Baldwin@BestBuy.com
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