Wanda holds charitable event to raise public autism awareness

Group's corporate social responsibility programs have benefited thousands of children

Wanda Hotels and Resorts held a charity event in Danzhai county, Southwest China's Guizhou province on March 29, aimed at raising public awareness to help autistic children and provide them with equal opportunities for education and living a normal life.

The event titled "We Are With You" invited 20 children with autism together with their parents to Wanda Jin Hotspring Hotel, which is located in Danzhai.

During the event, the parents attended a lecture on autism held by Sun Zhongkai, executive director of the Beijing Stars and Rain Education Institute for Autism, China's first NGO offering professional education to autistic children and their parents.

"Children with autism are not ill, but just need more care and help from the whole society," Sun told the audience. "Their parents may need more professional knowledge about autism to help them (the children) better communicate with the world.

"Many thanks to the Wanda Children's Foundation - with Wanda's strong support, we will be able to help more children and more families in the future," he added.

The Wanda Children's Foundation was established by Wanda Hotels and Resorts in June 2012 and entered into a partnership with the China Charity Federation soon after.

As of August 2017, the Wanda Children's Foundation has collaborated with the Beijing Stars and Rain Education Institute for Autism to offer professional training for autistic children and increase their parents' knowledge and understanding of the condition.

The cooperation program called "Stars and Rain - Wanda Classroom", has been launched in Kaili, Guizhou province; Nanchang, Jiangxi province; Hefei, Anhui province; Urumqi, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Harbin, Heilongjiang province. To date, 250 children have benefited from the program.

To help them to accomplish the program's systematic training, the foundation grants each child with a scholarship.

A mother of an autistic child said at the charity event that the sky was grey and gloomy for her before she attended the training. "I complained a lot and asked many times why my child was different from others.

"After joining the class, my life has been lightened up. I understand my child more and more, and I believe that by getting more professional training, my kid will get better and better," she said.

Since its establishment, the Wanda Children's Foundation has not only paid close attention to the plight of autistic children, but also worked to improve the livelihoods of children in poverty-stricken areas around the country.

Prior to the establishment of its children's foundation, Wanda had already built 100 cinemas for schools with financial difficulties, to improve their campus environment.

Ning Qifeng, president of Wanda Hotels and Resorts, said: "Charity is the DNA entrenched in Wanda. We will do our utmost to help more children and continue to assume Wanda's corporate social responsibility."

Danzhai, where the charity event was held, is one of the poorest counties in China. It is home to a poverty alleviation project initiated by China Wanda Group, parent company of Wanda Hotels and Resorts.

To help lift Danzhai out of poverty and revitalize the local economy, Wanda has invested 1.5 billion yuan ($238 million) in developing education and tourism as well as setting up a poverty relief fund.

Of that investment, 300 million yuan was given to Guizhou Wanda Career Technical College, a Wanda-funded educational institute committed to enhancing the skillsets of local people.

The college designed its majors, based on the businesses Wanda has operated and the job openings in the group company. Every year, 50 percent of the school's graduates choose to work at Wanda.

Another 700 million yuan has been spent on building the Danzhai Wanda Village, a tourism project that is designed to integrate culture, leisure, tourism and business.

This project has created 2,000 jobs for local people and attracts at least 1 million tourists every year, generating 500 million yuan in annual tourism revenue.

The tourism project has also spurred the development of other sectors, such as catering, accommodation, agriculture and handicraft manufacturing.

Another 500 million yuan has been put to use to establish a poverty relief fund, with its annual earnings of 50 million yuan granted to residents in special difficulties. Its first yearly earning, worth 50 million yuan, has already been assigned to 38,300 residents.

zhangdandan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/14/2018 page10)