Thousands Stand in Solidarity Against Bullying

  1. Updates

Each year, San Francisco’s bustling South of Market (SOMA) district comes alive with thousands of individuals from the cloud computing industry.  The streets are closed and traffic redirected as hordes of  flood the streets to attend Salesforce.com's Dreamforce, one of the largest technology conferences in the country and a highly anticipated event. 

Thanks to a successful partnership with the Salesforce.com Foundation, Playworks was invited to participate at Dreamforce. 

Playworks’ presence at this year’s Dreamforce conference was revolutionary.   The week began with a Bike Build, in which the Executive Leadership Summit – a group comprised of the top executives from the companies that Salesforce partners with – built bikes to donate to children from Playworks schools.   

The combined compassion of 50 hard-working volunteers produced more than 40 shiny, new bikes in under an hour (a new bike build record!).  The bikes were given away to excited children from Tenderloin Community School and Daniel Webster Elementary School.  Gratification was delayed, however, until a few rounds of signature Playworks games were played with the volunteers who helped transform the dream of a new bike into a reality. 

As the conference progressed, Playworks was lucky enough to be situated in the middle of all the action – literally.  Located on the vibrant turf positioned between Moscone North and Moscone South, Playworks set up a playzone that attracted the attention of thousands.

The playzone featured a “Stop Bullying” graffiti wall, fun games like 4square and soccer, as well as a letter writing campaign.  Hundreds of motivational and inspiring letters were written to 4th and 5th grade children to encourage youth leadership and the curtailment of bullying.

The graffiti wall was a monumental success – thousands of conference attendees stopped by to support the eradication of bullying in our schools by signing our wall of solidarity. 

The success of the “Stop Bulling” wall was primarily due to the deep emotional connection fostered when an individual reflected on their experience with bullying; feelings long buried away in the sea of memories that is primary school began to bubble to the surface.  Some participants recounted stories of regret, realizing that their actions could be considered bullying.  Conversely, individuals who endured negative experiences were touched by the solidarity of thousands taking a stand against bullying. 

The most touching moment of the day took place when a father took time to share with the Playworks staff that his autistic son often experiences bullying, and as such, it is a topic of paramount importance, “thank you for the work you do, it makes a daily difference in my home.” 

Hearing that statement was extremely rewarding as it confirms that the effects of our program are not limited to a positive shift in school climate, but also in the home environment. 

More Updates


January 12, 2023

Golden State Warriors Community Foundation & Salesforce partner with Playworks ›

We are grateful for our continued partnership with the Warriors Community Foundation and Salesforce during the 2022-2023 school year. With their support, Playworks Northern California has delivered safe and healthy play to over 41,200 elementary school children of promise this year! Check out this inspiring video showcasing our work together:      

A boy and girl holding basketballs on a playground.
A boy and girl holding basketballs on a playground.

November 16, 2022

2021-22 Annual Report ›

We are excited to share with you a look back at everything we accomplished in the 2021-2022 program year. It was a year focused on rebuilding after the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and we are proud to share that we served 41,200 students in the Northern California Region.  We are thankful for your continued…

three people with Playworks shirts
three people with Playworks shirts

July 28, 2022

A year of social and emotional learning ›

“You can’t do SEL, trauma, or equity work without each other,” Jennette Claassen, Head of Evaluation, Playworks. As Playworks continued to progress on our equity journey, we explored a critical question: what are the intersections between play, social and emotional learning, physical activity, and trauma? A working group focused on this question decided, among other…