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The Salesforce Foundation recently celebrated its 1 million volunteer hour milestone, which is a testament to the commitment to our 1-1-1 model. As a Salesforce employee we are granted 48hrs each year to give back to the community and every Salesforcer naturally finds a volunteering activity that speaks to the heart. I’ve been hooked on the BizAcademy program since I joined 3 years ago. I started my “biz” journey as a Mentor and then for the last two years I’ve sunk my teeth into helping run the program.

What is BizAcademy? Every year, Salesforce works with youth from under-resourced and low-income communities as well as youth with Cerebral Palsy. By joining the corporate world for a week at our regional Salesforce offices and learning from employees and mentors, they get leadership and real-world business experience.

We kicked off last week in a well-used art room in the basement of Mission Australia. Picture this; art supplies, clay models, books, and every colour felt tip imaginable. It was hard not to bring out the big kid in all of us. Let's face it. A corporate office can be pretty unnerving to anyone, so each year we run the kick-off workshop outside of Salesforce offices in an unfamiliar environment for all but is unassuming and fun at the same time. It does a great job of leveling everyone involved. At the kick-off our students meet their Salesforce mentors who will help coach and support them throughout the week. We had a goofy dress up photo-shoot and our mentor and mentees even got to write and perform a rap song together. A song of which I will have the pleasure of blasting across the office at any opportunity!

Throughout the week, the students will be taught business skills as well as learn about Salesforce and our solutions. Their task is to workshop in teams a Salesforce Pitch that they can present to their fictitious client. We present the students with a business problem and based on our solutions in Sales, Service & Marketing we challenge our students to present a solution, which will enable their customer to connect with their customers in a whole new way. Each team will present their sales pitch to a ‘Dragon Den’ panel on Friday where they will decide on the ultimate winning pitch. Sound daunting? It is! But year after year our students step up to the challenge and surpass expectations.  It blows your mind.

Over the course of the week we will have over 100 people participate in making the program a transformational experience for the students. I think BizAcademy continues to be a favourite foundation event for Salesforce employees is it gives them the opportunity to do what they do best but in a way that gives back to the community. These people are the best talent in the industry and to take the skills and experience that they’ve accumulated over the course of their careers and to be able to share that with individuals who just need an opportunity to shine is incredibly rewarding. For me, its the transformation I witness from day one where the students are typically shy and lacking confidence, to the end of just a week where they present an impressive sales pitch to a panel of Salesforce, Partner & Customer executives. From Safe Harbor to Demo, these youth do it all! 

How can you help?

Our utopia is for every student to find job placement following the program and we actively work to hire into internships either at Salesforce or through our networks. We empower these youth to think about their individual goals, aspirations and the next step whatever that may be. There is nothing more satisfying than watching each individual step out of their comfort zone, challenge themselves and succeed as a team. That’s what keeps me coming back every year.

If you are interested in taking on an intern? Please contact Davinder Mann; davinder.mann@salesforce.com

Special thanks to our Partners; Cerebral Palsy Alliance & Work Ventures Australia. BizAcademy runs from August 10-14 2015.