Best Buy Provides Funding for Upgrades at Buckner FYI Center Computer Lab
BEAUMONT—Buckner Children and Family Services received a $6,000 Community Partnership Grant from Best Buy this month to purchase new hardware and software for the FYI Center computer lab.
The FYI Center serves young adults who are transitioning from foster care to independent adult living. These 16 to 25-year-olds have grown up in foster care and often have little or no support from their biological families. Services coordinated through the FYI Center focus on education, employment, transportation, housing, mentoring and financial assistance.
“We are so honored to be involved in the updates at the center,” said Marcus Johnson, general manager for Best Buy. “Providing young adults with transitional assistance towards independence is such an important and necessary endeavor. It is so important for the community to help these young people create successful futures and we cannot express how happy we are to be part of this program. We at Best Buy are proud to be a friend of Buckner and look forward to a continued partnership.”
The grant will buy 10 new desktop computers, hubs for networking, two printers, an Epson Multimedia Projector with a tripod projection screen, Microsoft Office software and anti-virus software.
“We’re very excited to receive this gift, because it lets us be a greater resource to those we serve,” said Kevin Garriga, manager of Transitional Programs for Buckner. “A lot of our kids are living in the dorms at Lamar University and walk across the street to the FYI Center to do research or get help with homework. The new computers and upgrades will allow more students access throughout the day.”
The projector and screen will be used for training when the youth attend conferences at the center, Garriga said.
“We appreciate our friends at Best Buy,” said Laura May, administrator for Buckner Children and Family Services in Beaumont. “They are very supportive, not only with funds, but their employees also volunteer their time at Buckner Children’s Village. We are so grateful to each of them for all they do to make life better for the hurting children that we serve.”
For more information on getting involved with the FYI Center, please call Buckner at 409-866-0976 or visit the center's website at www.fyicenterbeaumont.org.
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