Haier, one of the world's largest white goods manufacturers and the official white goods sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, kicked off its "One Gold Medal, One Olympic Hope School" program with the first Beijing 2008 Olympic Gold medal won by the Chinese weightlifting athlete Chen Xiexia.
Haier will build one Project Hope Olympic School for each Gold medal won by a Chinese athlete during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The company announced its "One Gold Medal, One Olympic Hope School" on December 3rd, 2007 when it committed to build one primary school for each Olympic gold medal won by a Chinese athlete in Beijing.
Project Hope is a non-governmental organization sponsored by the China Youth Development Foundation that aims at supporting education in China's poverty-stricken areas. The foundation helps children from poor Chinese areas with funds collected from society to build and refurbish schools and helps drop-out students return to school in spite of poor family financial condition. Haier has been a long time partner of Project Hope and contributed more than USD3 million in funds and USD19.56 million in materials for Project Hope so far. By the end of 2007, Haier had built 77 primary schools in 24 provinces, allowing 40,000 students to return to school.
In addition to donating Olympic Project Hope Schools, Haier also delivers the Olympic Spirit to the Children in China's poverty-stricken areas. In June 2007 Haier launched the nationwide program "Haier Olympic Project Hope" in partnership with the CYDF. Haier contributed USD437,500 to 30 Project Hope primary schools throughout the country, equipping each school with a "Haier electronic reading room" comprising a high definition Haier television set as well as a library so the children can watch the competition and share the joy brought by the Olympic Games while learning about Olympic history and experiencing the Olympic movement.
Haier Group SVP Zhou Yunjie said that committing to social responsibility is a key part of Haier's overall strategy; and that with the "One Gold Medal, One Olympic Hope School" program, Haier wants to help the children feel the Olympic Spirit together with the whole world, making the world a home.
Li Yadong, director of Hope Primary School Department, China Youth Development Foundation said that Haier is a respected long term contributor to Project Hope and has already helped a lot of children throughout China. He added that CYDF is thankful to Haier for their "One Gold Medal, One Olympic Hope School" program during the Olympic Games and that Haier's donations will allow thousands of students to improve their lives and embrace the Olympic Spirit.
