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Trailblazers are amazing in so many ways, from inspiring us with their stories every day, to innovating and transforming their businesses. But what we’re especially heartened by is how generous Trailblazers are with their time, talent, and resources. At Salesforce, we believe that philanthropy brings out the best in us. So it’s no surprise that this philosophy runs deep within our Ohana. Thousands of our Trailblazers around the world are giving back and making the world a better, more equal place for everyone. Here’s are a few ways Trailblazers gave back this year.
“I want to bring the jobs that Salesforce helps to make to homeless LGBT youth or those living in shelters.”
That is what’s written on Austin Marketing Cloud user group leader Scott Luikart’s Trailblazer Community profile. This year, Scott decided to use his birthday to support the amazing work of Montrose Grace Place, a safe space for youth of all sexual orientations and gender identities experiencing homelessness in Houston. He set up a GoFundMe intended to fund an ad-hoc computer lab, and was able to raise over $3,000 with the help from his friends, family, and the Trailblazer Community. As part of the #Trailhead4All initiative, Scott teaches Trailhead to LGBT youths, and now has 10+ computers to aid his efforts.
The Dallas Salesforce Developer’s Group came together in April for a GiveForce Hackathon. Over 30 developers donated their time and skills to benefit The GOD’S CHILD Project, an organization reaching children and families in intense poverty. In addition to their work in the US, they also provide care to thousands in Guatemala, El Salvador, India, and Malawi, and also operate an Institute for Trafficked, Exploited, & Missing Persons that prevents and rescues victims of human trafficking. Using the Salesforce Nonprofit Starter Pack (NPSP), the Dallas Developer’s Group was able to build a powerful cloud infrastructure in just one weekend.
Over 5+ million children have been impacted by a parent’s cancer. Kesem provides year-round support services for this unique population. Kesem’s flagship program, Camp Kesem, is a free week-long summer camp that – along with their other innovative, fun-filled programs — fosters a lasting community for these children. In 2017, Camp Kasem served 7,300+ children. Learn more about their story here.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is leading the fight to free individuals, and the families that love them, from the harm of muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related life-threatening diseases that take away physical strength, independence, and life. In delivering care from day one, to empowering families with support, to funding research breakthroughs (they’ve awarded 13.7 million in 2017 alone), MDA continues to blaze new trails in helping their families through difficult and emotional times.
Shonnah Hughes is the CRM Technical Lead at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, a Salesforce MVP, and a chapter leader of the Women in Tech Diversity User Group. After hearing about #Trailhead4All, she was inspired to focus her energies on teaching young women of color Salesforce skills. Every other month, she hosts a Trailhead Ranger Boot Camp for young women of color in the Minneapolis area. She says, “Initially my goal was to target young women ages 10–18 who are looking to get into STEM or STEAM schools, but our age range is actually 10–40 years old because some mothers stick around to learn too!” Read more about Shonnah’s story here.
As the UK's largest and oldest children's charity, Barnardo’s provides services to help children and young people in poverty. They currently serve 270,000 children with over 1,000 different types of service from children’s centers to children with disabilities. To have greater impact on a child’s future, they needed to implement longer-term strategies to stay connected with children as they grow, as well as recruit long-term donors. Read about how they’re implementing smarter fundraising that enables them to communicate with donors more effectively and transparently, as well as maximizing efficiency to free resources for helping children here.
James Goerke and Sean Lee know the value of learning and having a guide to help you when you hit a roadblock. Because not everyone is near a user group, they wanted to create a space for any Trailblazer to have the benefit of a mentorship. Last year they built and launched Mentorship Central on the Trailblazer Community, and built a mentor matching app to help community members volunteer to become and find mentors. In a year’s time, the site has made 138 matches!
The #Trailheart formula: Be human. Have fun. Be purposeful. Give Back.
Trailblazers really responded to this simple ethos and took the opportunity to give back at Dreamforce in a big way. In addition to raising $15 million for the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals at the Dreamfest, attendees participating in the Dreamforce Quest raised $1 million for Girl Scouts, Upwardly Global, and World Vision. With a different focus every day of the event — helping nonprofit workforce development partners, packing backpacks for students affected by recent hurricanes, learning about the health of our environment, and highlighting corporate giving and the Pledge 1% initiative — attendees were able to also donate their time and give back to others.
Interested in how you can give back, too? Join a Trailblazer Community group, some of which focus on philanthropy and volunteering. Or join our Pledge 1% movement and find out how you can start supporting nonprofits in your community.
Don't miss the earlier Days of Trailblazing. Find them here:
