SaaS Featured Article

Bikes are ridden for a variety of reasons, to stay fit, to save on gas prices, and even just for fun. One innovative company found a different approach to biking that goes beyond traditional benefits.

 

Salesforce.com (News - Alert) was led by its employees in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint by riding their bikes to work. But, the benefit does not end there; these employees were also riding to benefit underserved youth.

Salesforce.com employees spent months riding their bikes to work and have raised $10,000 and selected Trips for Kids (TFK) as their charity of choice.

On July 11, these employees joined young people from Kung Fu Grocery – an inner-city, low income martial arts school, TFK volunteers, staff and Board members for a ride through the Tennessee Valley area of the Golden Gate Recreation area to present the check.

 

"At a time when fuel costs are soaring, biking to work is an environmentally friendly, cost effective and health promoting activity," said Marilyn Price, founding director of TFK, in a Thursday statement. "Trips for Kids is thrilled to be the chosen recipient. This money will be used to take underserved youth on mountain bikes rides."

Salesforce.com, a high-tech firm in the San Francisco Bay are specializing in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS (News - Alert)), used a traditional pastime as a way to benefit youth, boost employee fitness and make an environmental impact. Forty employees worldwide participated in the community initiative.

The Salesforce.com Foundation relied on the salesforce.com technology to log the miles the employees rode and contributed one dollar for each mile. Salesforce.com has been a long-time supporter of Trips for Kids.

"I joined salesforce.com not just because of the company and its products, but also because of the Salesforce.com Foundation's relationship with the community," said Perry David Tennyson, a salesforce.com employee, in Thursday’s statement.

 

"Growing up in San Francisco and being a cyclist made this the perfect opportunity for me to participate in. That salesforce.com gave one dollar to a non profit for every mile I rode to work each day made me extremely proud."

Based in San Rafael, California, Trips for Kids is a 20-year old national non-profit organizations whose programs provide underserved youth a chance to experience the joy and challenge of mountain biking.

The organization also focuses on learning valuable like skills and an appreciation for the outdoors. There are currently 64 Trips for Kid chapters across the United States and Canada.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC (News - Alert) and has also written for Market Drive News. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.