Best Buy Commits $10M to Grow Opportunities for Youth in Los Angeles

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.

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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 [e-mail]. To learn about Best Buy Teen Tech Centers, visit bestbuy.com/teentechcenter.