Best Buy Lends a Helping Hand to Victims of Georgia Floods

10/24/09 Best Buy partnered with the American Red Cross to donate time and technology to Atlanta area flood victims on Sept. 25 - 27.

“Our in-home Geek Squad Installers and Agents were out performing their jobs and saw firsthand, the devastation that the Atlanta area flooding caused our communities,” said Brian Adamson, deputy field marshal for Best Buy in the Atlanta market. “It moved many of them, so much in fact, that they reached out to their supervisor, asking if we could help…so we did.”

Outside of the Cobb County Civic Center, Best Buy set up a Clearwire modem and router and connected eight laptops to the internet. Residents of the shelter were able to use the computers and internet to search for apartments, homes, apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance, contact insurance companies and conduct personal online business.

In order to raise the spirits of the flood victims, Best Buy set up a surround sound and public address (PA) system in front of the shelter on Sunday morning so a local pastor could hold worship service for the victims.

Inside the shelter, Best Buy hooked up two 42-inch LCD televisions so residents could watch the news and sports, as well as other locally provided channels. Geek Squad Installers hooked up DVD players to each television. Twenty movies were donated to the Red Cross for the victims to watch, including a large selection of family films for the children’s entertainment.

The Best Buy employees also donated 50 cases of water to the flood victims.

With operations in the United States, Canada, China, Europe and Mexico, Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation. Community partnership is central to the way we do business at Best Buy. In fiscal 2009, we donated a combined $33.4 million to improve the vitality of the communities where our employees and customers live and work. For more information about Best Buy, visit www.bestbuy.com.

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