Best Buy : Brings Tech Support to Areas Affected by Hurricanes

Suzanne HilkerStaff Writer

Best Buy and our employees are helping residents in areas hit hard by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma stay connected with one another and their loved ones.

After basic needs have been met, communicating with family and friends, as well as having internet access to begin the recovery process, is the next essential. That's why we're partnering with relief organizations, such as the Salvation Army and American Red Cross, to bring technology to storm-ravaged communities. Best Buy's product and monetary donations have totaled more than $1 million to date.

Keeping communities connected

In Houston, Best Buy employees delivered 10,000 charging units to shelters. At one of those shelters, Geek Squad Agents set up a fully functional internet café. We also provided 100 tablets to the Salvation Army's mobile 'canteen' trucks, which deliver food and Wi-Fi connectivity to people throughout the Houston area.

In Florida, our Blue Shirts and Geek Squad Agents are ready to deploy charging units, tablets, prepaid phones and laptops in partnership with relief organizations.

Being displaced by a natural disaster is extremely stressful, and we also help provide a little escape through entertainment. Once long-term shelters are established, Geek Squad Agents are set to hook up entertainment centers - complete with large-screen TVs, Blu-ray players and family friendly movies.

Helping our employees

The storms disrupted the lives of many Best Buy employees. The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Employee Disaster Relief Fund is providing financial support for affected employees. Through the Employee Giving Program, Best Buy is also matching employee donations to relief organizations to by 40 percent to help impacted communities recover. In addition, many employees are helping one another by donating to the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Employee Disaster Relief Fund and gifting hours of paid time off to affected co-workers.

We are proud to see our employees coming together to help one another and their communities during this time.

We invite customers to join our efforts to support recovery efforts and donate during the checkout process in stores andonline.