Community Corner

Team F.E.E.D. at Best Buy Giving Local Support for Tech Support

Giving back on a local level.

Team F.E.E.D. at the is much more than a tech training service for local residents. The program, originally conceived by Mansfield Best Buy employee Pamela Fernandes, not only helps teach, but also gives back to the community.

The program offers tech classes in exchange for donations of non-perishable food items that are then donated to food pantries in the area, including , Norton, Easton and .

Fernandes thought of the idea, and Best Buy then sponsored it. The program is slated to move around to other stores in the region, such as Marlboro and Plymouth, later this year.

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When Fernandes first started working at the Mansfield store about three years ago, she said that she wanted a part-time job to help her keep up with technology herself.
“I was a special ed teacher, but I got my job at Best Buy because I wanted to keep up with technology,” Fernandes said. “When I got in there and started my training I realized all that was out there that I didn’t even know about, so we came up with the Team F.E.E.D. program.”

Fernandes said that she graduated from Bridgewater State University for special education. She used to work as a special education teaching assistant in the Sharon school system, and she originally introduced the idea to the Best Buy Corporation as a supplementary program for educating customers about the various technology products at the store.

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“One of the things they’re really good at is listening to their employees,” she said.

Fernandes said that she felt that the program could do more than offer free educational courses, but also give back to the community.

 “I had been volunteering at the Mansfield Food Pantry,” she said. “That’s always been a passion of mine. We’re very adament about not charging for our service, but we encourage our customers and our attendees to donate to the local food pantries, which they actually bring to the class.”

The food is put into a shopping cart in the class and each month they donate to a local food pantry, rotating each month. Next month they will donate to Norton. In 2011, the program collected more than 1,000 food items for the local pantries.

Fernandes said that there is always a growing need for donations, especially after the USDA has stated that it will reduce donations from farm surpluses this year.

“[The food pantries] are so greatful,” she said. “We are in hard times, and they’re adding more and more families to their list of people that come for food.”

Fernandes said that the program is very fulfilling for her because she gets to keep teaching while understanding new technology herself.

“It’s amazing to explain something technical to [attendees] and have them get it,” she said. “Those ‘ah ha!’ moments in the class are my absolute favorite.”

Ferandes and Best Buy employee Kayla Vizeiros teach the classes, which are classified by subject and vary on time and day each week.  For more information, call 508-261-2340 (ext. 2100) for classes, times and other Team F.E.E.D. events.


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