Summer camp welcomes 450 students to Beijing

The 2016 Star Fund Summer Camp in Beijing ran for four days, including Children's Day on Wednesday, as a holiday gift from Mercedes-Benz, demonstrating how its corporate social responsibility has taken deep root in China.

The camp, which ends on Thursday, welcomed more than 450 students selected from the 500 Hope Schools that are aided by the Mercedes-Benz Happy Music Classroom Program, enabling the children to polish their musical talents.

A highlight of the summer camp was the third Happy Music Classroom Gala held a concert in Sun Yat Sun Park on Tuesday that featured impressive choir performances.

Whether singing new versions of ancient poetry, the refreshing cappella of the Kam Grand Choir or classical global melodies, the children's voices lured the audience from the hustle of the city.

During the summer night, famous tenor Dai Yuqiang and renowned host and actress Liu Chunyan performed together with the children.

During their four-day stay in Beijing, the campers also enjoyed a tour of the Central Conservatory of Music and the National Centre for the Performing Arts where they were impressed by the manners and magnificent voices of the professional choirs.

At noon on Children's Day, the students visited the Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Beijing for a Happy Carnival, where executives of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service worked as Star Ambassadors and served the children at the fair's booths. They also hosted a birthday party for those children born in June.

Commitment to China

Specially arranged to benefit children from remote areas, this event served as a stage for encouraging the students' musical dreams, as well as presenting the achievements of Mercedes-Benz's educational program since it first launched six years ago.

In addition to facilities support, such as providing instruments and ethnic minority costumes, the Mercedes-Benz Star Fund has partnered with colleges with musical education resources and established eight Music Education Star Bases, to provide regular and professional music teacher training to Hope Schools and assist in organizing music activities through its Star Ambassador Volunteer Program. More than 1,000 teachers have received musical training and nearly 2,000 volunteers have participated in programs, contributing more than 60,000 hours of voluntary service.

Over the past six years, the Mercedes-Benz Star Fund has been devoted to enabling more children to grow up with the inspiration of music, and to implementing the popularization and development of comprehensive education.

Li Hongpeng, senior executive vice-president of BMBS and chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Star Fund Management Committee, said: "Since BMBS was established three years ago, we have achieved increased sales growth and successfully expanded our dealer network.

"Meanwhile, we have increased our investments in CSR activities, covering 500 schools in underdeveloped areas. Echoing China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), we will continue to promote modern education on the basis of supporting Hope Schools and further expanding fields of all-around education; provide a platform for community volunteers by leveraging the national dealer network; and further helping children achieve independence through advanced vocational education programs, thus helping more Chinese youth pursue their dreams."

Through the Star Fund, Mercedes-Benz will further expand the breadth and depth of its CSR programs, improve education in Hope Schools by the end of 2016, and provide professional training for physical education teachers and volunteers, so as to expand the quality of sports education in the 500 schools supported by the Happy Music Classroom Program.

By also facilitating an advanced vocational program for talented students, Mercedes-Benz will further support underprivileged students from vocational colleges through scholarships and financial aid, as well as internships and job opportunities in dealerships.

The automaker will also work with dealers to provide platforms for education and accelerate community development.

In 2016, Mercedes-Benz also plans to set up another 100 Road Safety Education Community Bases at dealerships, and engage more social volunteers in the Star Ambassador Club.

Under the slogan "Nurturing the Best for All our Tomorrows", the Star Fund is devoted to realizing Mercedes-Benz's long-term commitment to China, supporting the next generation to live their dreams.

(China Daily 06/02/2016 page15)