On 5 June, Salesforce North team swapped laptops for tennis rackets and hosted the North Business Development Representatives Open, a charity tennis tournament in support of 80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World.
The event brought together Salesforce colleagues, country teams, friends and supporters for a day of tennis, good humour, friendly competition and fundraising. For 80:20, it was a very welcome opportunity to meet new people, share a little about our work, and be part of a lively community event with a purpose behind it.
Game, set, solidarity
The tournament included teams from across the Salesforce North Business Development Representatives network (BDR), with Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Swiss, Norwegian, Belgian and Swedish teams all taking part. After a full day of group stages, knockouts and a final, the Swedish team came out on top. Congratulations to them and to everyone who played, cheered, donated, organised and helped make the day happen.
80:20 was represented on the day by Tony Daly, Coordinator, who joined the tournament with the Irish team, and Marianna Spanou, Digital Communications Officer. Tony may have been there to speak about 80:20’s work, but he also found himself very much on court, racket in hand, as part of the day’s action.
The 80:20 equation takes to the court
We also brought along something small but very 80:20; tennis balls stencilled with the 80:20 equation.
For us, the equation is more than a symbol. It is a way of opening up conversations about inequality, power, responsibility and change. Usually, those conversations happen in classrooms, workshops, resources, public events or learning spaces. On this occasion, they also happened around a tennis court, which felt like a pretty good reminder that education and awareness can begin in all kinds of places.
Salesforce: Playing for something bigger than a trophy
The day itself had a great mix of energy: competitive tennis, team spirit, plenty of laughs, and a strong sense that people were playing for something bigger than the trophy. Events like this help bring new people into contact with 80:20’s work and create space for conversations about education, global justice and action in a relaxed, accessible way.
At 80:20, we work to support critical education and public engagement on some of the major justice issues of our time: from inequality and human rights to climate justice, media literacy and democratic participation. We:
and encourage people to ask critical questions about the world around them.
Support can start anywhere
Support from events like the North Business Development Representatives Open helps us continue that work. It also reminds us that fundraising does not always have to look formal or traditional. Sometimes it can look like a tennis tournament, a group photo, a trophy, a few stencilled tennis balls and a lot of people choosing to get involved.
A huge thank you to Salesforce Ireland, the North Business Development Representatives team, the tournament organisers, Claremont Railway Tennis Club, team captains, players, donors and supporters. Thank you for choosing to support 80:20, for welcoming us into the day, and for bringing such enthusiasm to the event.
Congratulations again to the Swedish team on their win!