Best Buy Commits $10M to Grow Opportunities for Youth in Los Angeles
May 19 2021 - 05:00PM
Business Wire
Partnership with Annenberg Foundation and
Greater LA Education Foundation will create network of 12 Teen Tech
Centers in Los Angeles County to prepare youth from disinvested
communities for the future.
Last December, Best Buy announced a five-year plan with bold
commitments for building brighter futures for our communities.
Today, we’re sharing that as part of the plan we are committing $10
million to provide a new network of opportunities for youth in Los
Angeles.
Called the Community Impact Hub, it was created in collaboration
with founding partners the Annenberg Foundation and the Greater LA
Education Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Los Angeles
County Office of Education. This model will create up to 12 new
Teen Tech Centers in the LA area by 2023.
Best Buy currently has 35 Teen Tech Centers nationwide,
including three in LA – one at the Bresee Foundation and two set to
open later this summer at Legacy LA and Vermont Slauson Economic
Development Corporation (VSEDC). Together, this future network of
Teen Tech Centers will help prepare at least 3,000 LA-area youth
per year for local career opportunities.
To celebrate the launch, Best Buy and the founding partners will
host a virtual kickoff event on May 19, featuring a conversation
with Eva Longoria Bastón and a special performance by Common.
“A lack of opportunity and access prevents millions of young
people — especially those from disinvested communities — from
reaching their full potential,” Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said.
“We’ve seen how one Teen Tech Center in a community can build
brighter futures. By partnering with local Los Angeles
organizations, we’ll be able to support even more youth pursuing
their dreams, now and in the future.”
The Community Impact Hub will offer participants experience in
high-demand careers in the creative and entertainment industries.
Through partnerships with Fresh Films and the GRAMMY Museum®, the
Teen Tech Centers will give youth hands-on training in film,
digital media, audio engineering and music production. Best Buy has
also partnered with the Entertainment Industry Foundation to
develop career pathways for Los Angeles youth, including organizing
paid internship placements at local organizations to best prepare
them to enter the workforce. Compton-based Yetunde Price Resource
Center will provide mental health and wellness programming.
Additional supporters of the Los Angeles Community Impact Hub
include JBL, Western Digital, The Oprah Winfrey Charitable
Foundation, Microsoft and Russell Westbrook’s Why Not?
Foundation.
Partnering for a greater impact
Best Buy is proud to partner with likeminded public and private
organizations in the local community to amplify our efforts on this
initiative.
- “Helping create the Community Impact Hub in LA was a natural
extension of the Annenberg Foundation’s existing work with Best
Buy. The Teen Tech Center we’re building in South LA in partnership
with VSEDC will be a core pillar of that hub – with a bold vision
to address learning loss, help close the digital divide, and
provide young women and youth of color with meaningful,
career-linked opportunities,” said Cinny Kennard, Executive
Director of the Annenberg Foundation.
- “These centers will offer opportunities for enrichment and
expanded learning, learning acceleration and social emotional
support that will advance equity for students across Los Angeles
County,” said Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County superintendent of
schools.
- “LA County is an international center of arts, entertainment
and technology - this partnership will connect the students that
live in our communities right now, with the careers that will
define the economy of the future,” said John Garcia, the President
of the Greater LA Education Foundation.
A commitment to ‘do better’
Last year, Best Buy committed to do more to address
underrepresentation, technology inequities and educational and
career opportunities for those who need it most. One of those
commitments is to reach 30,000 teens annually from disinvested
communities across the nation and build a network of 100 Best Buy
Teen Tech Centers to support youth in their growth of technology
skills and build a talent pipeline for jobs of the future.
As part of our broader $44 million commitment, we also launched
the Best Buy Scholars program to provide college scholarships that
help reduce financial barriers for diverse students, with a focus
on supporting those who are active participants at a Best Buy Teen
Tech Center.
For more information about the Los Angeles Community Impact Hub
and how businesses, philanthropic organizations and individuals can
get involved, email LATTC@bestbuy.com. To learn about Best Buy Teen
Tech Centers, visit bestbuy.com/teentechcenter.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210519005816/en/
Ale Valeriano Press@BestBuy.com
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