Five new Best Buy Teen Tech Centers are scheduled to open this year in Los Angeles County, in partnership with the Los Angeles County Office of Education and the Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation. The North Valley Caring Services will hold a Grand Opening Ceremony on April 25, 2024, to celebrate the addition of this exciting resources to the community, located at 15453 Rayen Street, in North Hills.

The free Teen Tech Centers provide a creative and safe learning environment, where teens can develop critical skills through hands-on activities exploring their interests through project-based learning. Each location works to bridge the digital divide by giving young people access to tech education and mentor guidance while building the confidence they will need to be successful in school and in their future careers.

In Los Angeles County, the Best Buy Foundation is partnering with the Greater LA Education Foundation and the Annenberg Foundation to create the Community Impact Hub. Centered around a network of 12 Teen Tech Centers across LA County, the Community Impact Hub will provide unprecedented tech access, mentorship, skill-building and career opportunity to teens in disinvested communities across Los Angeles County. 

The Teen Tech Centers in the Community Impact Hub specifically provide innovative education and career development opportunities in entrepreneurship and the creative economy to create a direct workforce pipeline from LA's underinvested communities to its entertainment industry. The Tech Centers will partner with entertainment industry groups and individuals to provide students with access to skill-building in fields such as filmmaking, digital media and audio engineering. 

The Teen Tech Centers are located in community-based organizations that serve youth in priority communities (Koreatown, Ramona Gardens, Boyle Heights, South LA, Watts, Compton, North Long Beach, north SF Valley, Antelope Valley, El Monte, Southeast LA, and Camp Kilpatrick - a juvenile detention camp in Malibu). 

Five of those locations are funded with American Rescue Plan (ARP) dollars, which will expand the Community Impact Hub's reach and sustainability. The ARP funds cover costs related to construction, the purchase of technology and furniture, programming and two full-time staff members for the space. The ARP-funded sites include:

• North Valley Caring Services in north SF Valley

• Antelope Valley Boys and Girls Club 

• Weingart East LA YMCA in Boyle Heights

• YMCA's Youth Institute Long Beach at the Carmelitos Housing Development (a collaboration with LACDA as well)

• Boys and Girls Club Metro LA at the Watts/Willowbrook Clubhouse

All of the sites are in various stages of development, from just beginning construction to open and serving students (NVCS and Antelope Valley are currently open). All five of the ARP sites will be open this year; all 12 of the Community Impact Hub sites will be open next year.

A grand opening ceremony will be held for the Teen Tech Center at North Valley Caring Services on April 25, from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Register to attend the event here.