Porsche ups its support for rural education

China Daily - Porsche plans to expand its partnership with the UN Children's Education Fund to fund education in rural China after three years of successful cooperation on an earlier project, company executives said.

The belief that knowledge and education are the keys to a brighter future underpins the company's partnership with the fund, said the Chief Executive Officer of China operations for the German luxury brand Helmut Broeker.

This year, the company is tailoring the support it offers for different age groups of Chinese youth.

"We hope that those youth of different ages in rural communities could all have the chance to realize their potential regardless of where or how they live," Broeker said.

UNICEF and Porsche are opening new frontiers for cooperation as a follow-up to their three-year partnership on the METRU project, which is short for Mobile Educational Training and Resource Units.

"We start an integrated set of interventions for children from birth to three years old in some of China's poorest and most difficult-to-reach counties under a project named Integrated Early Childhood Development, or IECD for short," said Broeker.

"The new project not only concerns the newborn child's physical condition but also pays attention to their mental growth."

UNICEF and Porsche together are supporting this process for China's most underprivileged children. Porsche plans to make a donation of four Cayenne SUVs and contribute a total of 23 million yuan ($3.68 million) for a three-year period for the IECD program.

"This year we will start working with very young children following the huge volume of evidence which tells us that the youngest children need integrated care, nutrition, support, stimulation, protection and specialized learning and development opportunities," said Tim Sutton, deputy representative of UNICEF China.

"And they need this in an integrated fashion, in all spheres of life if they are to grow and bloom to their full potential."

Broeker said that at the same time, their work in supporting teachers in primary schools through METRU also continues.

"With our support to ambitious art students in the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute through our 'Empowering the Future' Art Contest, which has been held for the third year, we can provide overall support to young Chinese people of every age," said Broeker.

Since 2009, Porsche has partnered with UNICEF on METRU in addition to the recently launched IECD, which are all part of the "Empowering the Future" initiative, the cornerstone of the brand's corporate social responsibility program within the country.

METRU has donated more than 15 million yuan to provide better care and improve the welfare of children in rural areas and facilitate the transportation of essential supplies for their health and education.

For example, the six Porsche Cayenne SUVs donated to METRU in Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces are specially modified to overcome the rough terrain that has long prevented these areas from receiving regular aid and support in the past.

By the end of September, UNICEF and Porsche had delivered training, qualified instructors and resources to 8,189 teachers and 131,804 students across 441 schools in Sichuan and Gansu provinces. They also began reaching out to more than 2,000 teachers and more than 40,000 students across 86 schools in Yunnan province.

"We concentrated and will continue to concentrate our efforts on the western regions because we already see a mature educational environment for young people in eastern coastal areas," said Broeker. "Porsche's projects are going to more surrounding regions, from Yunnan province, to Sichuan and Gansu provinces."

"And our IECD program will even reach Shanxi and Guizhou provinces," said Broeker.

Integrated early childhood development

Though Chinese living standards have been improving rapidly in recent years due to a growing economy, many children living in rural and remote regions of China are still in need of urgent support.

According to UNICEF, about 30 million children under age 6 have no opportunity for early education, with no more than half of Chinese aged 3 to 6 in kindergarten or pre-school.

Porsche aims to initially provide comprehensive services, including high-quality psychological care and pre-school education to 8,000 children under age 3 in 160 villages in Shanxi and Guizhou provinces.

And their families will also receive professional guidance with regard to childcare and teaching. Furthermore, pregnant women are also included in the project, allowing them to take a prenatal examination so that the health of their children is being monitored before they are born.

The German executive paid a visit to children and teachers in three schools in Sichuan province in 2010.

"Children's smiles impressed me when our vehicles arrived with books and other equipment. And I was also touched by the very motivated teachers," said Broeker.

"When I left the schools, I saw the areas devastated by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, with villages buried. I felt that we have to commit more to further support the program," he said.

Then in 2011, Broeker sent the company's manager for the southern region to monitor the implementation of the program firsthand, and last month, Porsche's sales director represented the company on a fact-finding mission about the progress of efforts in Gansu province.

"I would like to participate in the IECD project next year to see what kind of activities we have done and identify some areas in which we can provide more support," Broeker said. "We are not merely concerned about being successful in this market. We are also sincere about giving what we can back to the society in which we are operating."

Broeker said that in all of Porsche's charitable initiatives, the brand has always been dedicated to improving the situations of rural youth and raising public awareness of their needs.

"For Porsche, caring for the underprivileged youth of China is more than only a single act of philanthropy. It is a long-term commitment."

"The rainbow, a key component of our program logo, represents hope and a bright future for youth education. We are coloring children's life with a spiritual bridge that connects the heart through real actions and strong emotions from everyone in Porsche," he said.