Zendesk Neighbour Foundation Launches in the UK with Team London HeadStart London Partnership

June 15, 2015

LONDON, UK — 16 June, 2015 — The Zendesk Neighbour Foundation launched in the United Kingdom today by sponsoring the Team London HeadStart London programme through a total gift of £150,000 over three years and commitment to offer youth employment opportunities.

The Team London HeadStart London programme is delivered by The Challenge, a leading charity focused on building a more integrated society. The Zendesk team in London will provide 20 short-term, seasonal employment opportunities per year for young people participating in the programme. One of the HeadStart London apprentices will be offered a one-year contract to work for Zendesk in the UK. These opportunities will provide valuable work experience in the technology industry for young people looking to kickstart their careers.

The Zendesk Neighbour Foundation is a non-profit organisation formed by Zendesk, Inc. (NYSE:ZEN). The foundation expands the company’s commitment to being a good neighbour across its 11 global offices in 10 countries. It focuses on neighbourhood renewal and improvement by addressing poverty, homelessness and healthcare, improving education and promoting gender equality, development, and technical literacy.

“I’m delighted that Zendesk are partnering with Team London on the HeadStart London programme,” said Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. “As well as helping to tackle youth unemployment, Zendesk, as the programme’s technology partner, are playing a vital role in preparing young people for roles in this increasingly important and thriving industry in London.

“The HeadStart London programme is a shining example of how businesses can work with Team London to develop the employability skills of young Londoners through volunteering and professional workshops. I would encourage other businesses to follow their lead and make a real difference to the lives of the capital’s young people.”

The HeadStart London programme seeks to address the challenges of youth unemployment and social segregation. It offers diverse groups of 16-18 year olds the opportunity to develop employability skills through volunteering and professional workshops, and then rewards their social action with interviews for entry-level paid work with partner businesses.

“The Zendesk team in London have a wealth of skills to offer the HeadStart London programme candidates and are really looking forward to helping young people take that next step up the career ladder,” said Tiffany Apczynski, executive director of the Zendesk Neighbour Foundation. “We have a rich history of supporting local causes in London through our active involvement with the COSMIC charity at St. Mary’s Hospital. We’re looking forward to continuing this with HeadStart along with our other charity commitments.”

The Zendesk Neighbour Foundation also announced a further donation of over £16,000 to COSMIC at the launch event held today in London.

“COSMIC is incredibly proud to have Zendesk as a neighbour and a long-term partner, “said Dr. Simon Nadel, lead consultant Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and COSMIC trustee. “As a result, we have been able to save the lives of hundreds of critically ill children and provide emotional and practical support to families going through one of the worst time in the lives. This further donation will make a huge difference in helping us achieve our dream of expanding the COSMIC unit to treat over 200 additional children, as well as creating a dedicated parent accommodation space within the hospital to support parents.”

The foundation receives ongoing funding through a one-of-a-kind model where, for the initial year of subscription, Zendesk will contribute $1 per month for every net new agent seat sold across all paid subscription plans for its customer service platform and live chat product.

About Team London

Team London is the Mayor of London’s ambitious programme to mobilise an army of volunteers across the capital. The aim is to improve life in London through programmes that will reduce crime, increase opportunities for youth as well as improve quality of life by cleaning and greening London; building stronger neighbourhoods. http://volunteerteam.london.gov.uk

Launched last summer, the HeadStart London programme has already seen some incredible results with over 800 16-18 year olds have started to volunteer through the programme and 93% of participants said that their communication skills had improved as a result of the programme.

About Zendesk

Zendesk provides a customer service platform designed to bring organizations and their customers closer together. With more than 57,000 paid customer accounts, Zendesk’s products are used by organizations in 150 countries and territories to provide support in more than 40 languages. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, Zendesk has operations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.