Junior Achievement is an organization we know well at salesforce.com. They are a big user of our technology in the U.S. and take advantage of our volunteers worldwide. Each year we send teams into primary schools throughout Dublin to deliver programs designed to teach the kids about the world around them. Paula Kinch from our Dublin office talks about her experience.

The experience was hugely enjoyable and I would thoroughly recommend it as a volunteer opportunity. I taught second class about our community. The programme exposed the class to jobs, skills, types of businesses, money, taxes and government. There were a lot of group activities with worksheets, stickers and group discussion.

Over the course of the 5 weeks I got to know the children individually as they shared their thoughts on what jobs they would like to do when they are older.

The best activity was in week 4 when the class ran a ballot to decide whether they would like a new skate park, toy shop or animal shelter in their community. 3 of the children campaigned for each of the options and the class helped them to work out the pros and cons of each choice so they could make a decision and place their vote. The animal shelter was the most popular choice in this class.

The class really enjoyed having a volunteer come into the classroom as it was a break from their routine and they knew there would be some fun exercises. They didn’t hesitate to put their hands up to share their views each week. The teacher was in the classroom at all times which I found reassuring, although in general the class was completely focused – much more so than would happen with a group of adults! - Paula Kinch