6th May 2008, The Foreign Press Association, London, UK 100 Kids from eight inner city schools in London were brought together in Central London for Young Enterprise London's Learn To Earn Programme. While the programme itself is tried and tested, the number of volunteers involved - 40 - and the spectacular location, at The Foreign Press Assocciation, right next to Horseguard's Parade, made this a unique occasion (a former residence of nineteenth century UK Prime Minister William Gladstone no less).

The programme is designed to encourage the kids to think about the link between education and success. No doubt being located at such a glamorous location will have left a lasting impression on our students. This is not the whole story though - this event was about the volunteers as well. Around 25 of the volunteers were Salesforce.com customers attending Dreamforce Europe '08, and we hope, as is our vision, to have spread the concept of volunteering to these companies.

Balloon Game Dr Steve Garnett

The day was kicked off with an inspirational talk from our very own EMEA Chairman, Dr. Steve Garnett. He told his own story of how he achieved his goals in life, which cleared affected the kids and will undoubtedly remain in their minds as they make the biggest choices of their lives so far over the next few years.

This was followed by a series of activities showing that the longer the kids stay in education, the greater possibilities that are likely to be open to them as they proceed through life. With two volunteers sitting with every six students the attention they received would be far more than they were used to and gave the opportunity for the volunteers to pass on the benefits of their experiences.

The event was a success and a wonderful way to start Dreamforce Europe.

Comment from US Employee - Matt Bennetti, Director Competitive Intelligence

As part of the May 2008 EMEA Dreamforce Foundation event, I spent the day with teenagers taking part in "Young Enterprise London".  The other volunteers and I helped teenagers figure out ways to reach their goals and avoid pitfalls along the way.  We began with an assignment: create an animal that represented "success" with balloons; a tough task but the kids at my table were up for it.  They created a giraffe "reaching" for a leafy "goal" in the form of a tree.  Our team was narrowly edged out by an octopus as the winner of the challenge.  The rest of the day we interacted with the kids and gave them advice on how to be successful in school.  Thanks to all the kids and teachers for a great day.

Here here just a few of the comments we received from our volunteers....

'...a great opportunity for kids to think about their future'

' It is so important to listen and help guide the students in their future. Very Rewarding'

' it gave me a real sense of achievement to be able to give advice to young students'One To One

' I enjoyed the speech by Dr Steve Garnett - Really motivated me'