A delegation of Marriott International senior executives and associates joined Yao Ming, founder of Yao Foundation, visiting Lu Zhou Marriott – Yao Foundation Hope Primary School in Luzhou City, Sichuan – the first of three ‘Project Hope’ schools in south-west China supported in a joint initiative between Marriott International and the Yao Foundation. The delegation also brought books to build a library for the school.
Marriott International is donating RMB5 million (approximately USD800,000) to the Yao Foundation under the three-year charitable partnership to establish three Hope Primary schools in the Southwestern region of China, which also includes supporting the Yao Foundation Hope Primary School Basketball Seasons in 2014 and 2015.
Funding by Marriott International for Lu Zhou Marriott – Yao Foundation Hope Primary School is rebuilding a new earthquake-resistant 5-story building of 14 classrooms, meeting hall, multi-media room, laboratory and computer room. Campus reconstruction is on schedule for completion in September, in time to welcome 678 students and 100 kindergarten youngsters from three villages and one community for the new school year.
During the visit, Yao Ming and President and Managing Director of Marriott International Asia Simon Cooper, Chairman of Marriott East China Business Council Silvio Rosenberger 12 Marriott employee ‘ambassadors’ and the team of Yao Foundation also delivered over 1,000 books donated by Marriott International associates from more than 70 hotels in China. This initiative is to help broaden the perspective of the kids and enrich their knowledge. The delegation also helped plant trees on the campus.
“Marriott International has a heritage of putting people first and is committed to make a contribution to the communities we serve,” said Marriott International Asia head Simon Cooper. “We believe one of the keys to making this happen is education, especially for the younger generations. We share Yao Ming’s views and vision, and are delighted to work with the Yao Foundation on this meaningful programme.”
“The collaboration is an extremely positive and impactful showcase of the ‘Spirit to Serve’ programme we are expanding rapidly in China. I am excited to see our first project has been making great strides and will bear fruit this September.”
Yao Ming said: “As Yao Foundation is building more Project Hope schools, we also look for ways to give additional support to make the schools a wonderful place for students for enriching their knowledge and experiencing comprehensive development. We believe encouraging kids to read more books and participate in sports, especially those that emphasize teamwork, are good complementary support.”
“As we believe sport is an integral part of education, we have been organizing Yao Foundation Hope Primary School Basketball Season. We have been recruiting more volunteers to teach students basketball skills and encourage them to enjoy the sport. We also strive to build more libraries for Project Hope schools. We are most grateful to the kind support of Marriott International provides to our work of giving a helping hand to the kids in rural areas. We will keep on doing our utmost to help improve the education environment in rural areas for the kids there, enabling them to have a comprehensive development.”
The Yao Foundation was established in 2008 by Yao Ming, one of China’s most famous athletes, under the auspices of The China Youth Development Foundation to promote the all-round development of Chinese youth – providing them opportunities to improve their education, sports skills, health and self-esteem.
Since its founding, the Yao Foundation has helped more than 10,000 rural Chinese children aged from 6 to 14 studying at 17 Hope Primary Schools and one special education school.
In addition to constructing schools, the Yao Foundation also teaches Chinese youngsters basketball skills to help build their sportsmanship and self-confidence. In partnership with leading Chinese and multinational companies, the “Yao Foundation Hope Primary School Basketball Season” has been enjoyed by over 150,000 children since it was launched in 2012.
