(Beijing/Shanghai) BMW Asian Open 2008 Charity Gala Night was held at Tomson Shanghai Putong Gulf Golf Club on April 25, 2008. Mr. Karl-Heinz Schmid, President of BMW China Automotive Trading Ltd. handed over a check of 200,000 RMB to Mr. Liu Guo Lin, Secretary-General of China Charity Foundation. The money was collected from both the auction and a BMW donation and will be used to build 20 "BMW Warm Heart Libraries" at local schools in Jingyang County, Shaanxi Province. The "BMW Warm Heart Library" project is now in its third year. To date, BMW has raised 1.2 million RMB for the set-up of 60 warm heart libraries.
The Original Design of the new BMW X6 was donated for the Auction, Charity Gala Night Attracted more Supports from Society
The BMW Asian Open 2008 Charity Gala Night unveils the first donation to "BMW Warm Heart Library" this year. This event attracted the involvement of BMW Shanghai Dealers, BMW Customers, and many renowned golf players such as the former world number one golfer Greg Norman who took part in the BMW Asian Open 2008 .Some special items for the auction are golf equipments used and signed by golf stars include Tiger Woods and Greg Norman. Especially, the eye-catching original sketch designs of the new BMW X6 by the model's head designer Pierre Leclercq was donated for the auction as event highlight after the new BMW X6 was unveiled on the scene. Famous Chinese actress Huang Shengyi, the former Charity Ambassador of China Charity Foundation, also presented at the Gala Night and donated her hand-made traditional 'portrait of eternal fortune' as one of the charity auction items.
At the Charity Gala Night, Mr. Karl-Heinz Schmid, President of BMW China Automotive Trading Ltd. Said, "We are glad to provide such a platform to have people from all walks of life dedicate their loves to the children in the rural area of China. As one of the five key areas of BMW's China Corporate Social Contribution Activities, Educational Support is highlighted at a corporate strategic level. BMW is determined to create favorable reading environments and thus enhance students' all-round development by building our Warm-Heart Library. In addition, we hope to increase people's attention to China's education system, as well as encourage more people to get involved with events that can change these children's lives."
Mr. Liu Guolin, Secretary-General of China Charity Foundation said in his speech, "Bearing in mind Corporate Social Responsibilities, BMW is actively devoting itself to Charity events and contributing to a harmonious society, while creating economic profits. The warm-heart donation by BMW has provided students from rural areas with various text books and non-text reading materials, greatly enlarging their horizon and extending their knowledge scope. The donated reference books also brought great convenience to their daily studies."
Initiated from "BMW Destination X", "BMW Warm Heart Library" Program is Moving on
"BMW Warm Heart library" is a BMW charity project launched in line with the "BMW Destination X" in 2006. Many schools in poverty-stricken areas in China are facing serious shortage of education funding, leading to the lack of necessary text books and teaching equipment. With annual contributions, BMW, together with China Charity Foundation, built "Warm heart Libraries" in elementary schools in these areas, to assist in giving children modern education. The funds required for this charity project is raised from the annual "BMW Destination X", where BMW contributes RMB 10 for every 1km traveled by the BMW cars during this event.
In July 5th, 2006, the first "BMW Warm-heart Library" Donation Handover Ceremony was held in Xi'an. Through cooperation with China Charity Foundation, BMW contributed 400,000 RMB to buy books and computers to 20 schools in Lantian, Zhouzhi and Hu Counties in the city. Last year, BMW contributed RMB 588,800 to XinJiang Charity Federation in Urumqi to set up 20 "BMW Warm-heart Libraries" in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Through these projects, BMW not only contributed books and computers to the children, but also encouraged them to develop a spirit to overcome challenges and difficulties. This project has been, naturally, warmly received by the students, teachers and local education departments.
In the coming years, the "BMW Warm Heart Library" project will continue to benefit more students. Meanwhile, the project has been listed as one of the key activities of BMW Customer's Warm-Heart Community. Through the influence of the Internet, BMW hopes to gather more caring people including BMW customers, dealers and BMW enthusiasts all across China to contribute to China's elementary education.
Long-term Commitment to Corporate Social Contribution, Fruitful Result in Educational Support
As the world's only premium sedan auto maker, BMW considers it a main goal to promote economic development, the happiness of all citizens,, social harmony and sustained development through coordinated development of business and society. BMW Group attaches high importance to its growth in China and takes a proactive role in the construction of a harmonious society in China. The establishment of "BMW Warm-heart Library" is a solid step forward for BMW's educational support in China, which is an important part of BMW's corporate social contribution activities in the country.
BMW has launched a spectrum of CSR programs in China to support the development of youngsters and education, such as:
--Sponsoring the first national golf team for youngsters in China;
--Sponsoring Central Conservatory of Music's symphony orchestra in overseas music festivals;
--Developing children's traffic safety education programs;
--Sponsoring the poor college students in Wenzhou and Shenyang to complete their schooling;
--Establishing a five-year BMW Excellent University Students Award Fund
--Establishing BMW Outstanding Teachers Award in August, 2007.
