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Salesforce.com/foundation helps ring in tibetan new year at 2001 tibet house benefit concert
Salesforce.com/foundation supports the Tibetan people by providing resources and building skills through technology-based programs.
ยท Opens first four computer centers for Tibetan Youth in 2000 - four more in 2001
February 26, 2001
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.- Feb 26, 2001- The salesforce.com/foundation rings in the Tibetan New Year tonight in New York City and extends its commitment to Tibetan people living in exile, with the 11th Annual Tibet House Benefit Concert. The star-studded musical gala, put on by the Tibet House, features the likes of David Bowie, Moby, Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris, Philip Glass and Natalie Merchant. Sponsoring this event is one of many salesforce.com/foundation initiatives aimed at empowering the Tibetan people through the use of technology.
"Salesforce.com/foundation is helping to create a model for a new kind of company by building community service and philanthropic cause into its culture from the beginning, and helping to improve the lives of those less fortunate,” said Robert Thurman, Professor of Indo-Tibetan Studies at Columbia University, and President of the Tibet House.
In 2000, the salesforce.com/foundation made great leaps in helping Tibetan refugee communities by partnering with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Department of Education, and the Tibet Fund to launch the Tibetan School Technology Project. The project is educating hundreds of Tibetan youth by installing computer centers in schools and training teachers in basic technology skills, software programs, and curriculum integration.
To date, four schools in Northern India and Nepal have been installed, with four more approaching completion in 2001. A subsequent project with the Tibet Fund, which will provide e-mail access to all Tibetan Refugee Settlements will be launched later in the year. In addition, the launch of the Reporters At Large Project, a collaboration between Tibet House and the salesforce.com/foundation, aims to preserve the rich Tibetan cultural history by encouraging students to interview elders in their community about their flight from Tibet, and then publishing those stories on the Internet.
“Sponsoring this concert has been one way for myself and the Foundation to show our support of the cause, and to help educate and empower the Tibetan people living in exile,” said Marc Benioff, chairman of salesforce.com and the Foundation.
In addition to its work in Tibet, the salesforce.com/foundation has committed itself to bringing technology to underprivileged communities. This past year, the Foundation has opened 14 Community Technology Centers in San Francisco youth development agencies, which serve over 4,000 youth. At each Center, the Foundation provides ongoing staff funding, teacher training, curriculum development, strategy and sustainability planning.
ABOUT THE SALESFORCE.COM/ FOUNDATION
Salesforce.com is the first Internet start-up company of its kind to institutionalize philanthropy at its inception. In the same way that salesforce.com’s goal is to deliver "Software as a Service", the salesforce.com/foundation's goal is to deliver "Business as a Service" – namely, business serving the community.
The vision of the foundation is to be the corporate philanthropy leader in the “new economy” by harnessing and amplifying the energy of employees to be of service in the community. The specific mission is two-fold: first, to unleash the potential of youth through technology; and second, to build community service into the company as a core cultural value.
