One Gold Medal, One Olympic Hope School; Haier Builds One Primary School for Each Chinese Olympic Champion

    BEIJING, Aug. 9 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Haier, the world's fourth
 largest white goods manufacturer and the official white goods sponsor of
 the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, kicks off today its "One Gold Medal, One
 Olympic Hope School" program with the first Beijing 2008 Olympic Gold medal
 won by the Chinese Weightlifting athlete Ms. CHEN Xiexia in Women's 48kg.
 Haier will build one Project Hope Olympic School for each Gold medal won by
 a Chinese athlete during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
 
     Haier announced its "One Gold Medal, One Olympic Hope School" on
 December 3rd, 2007 when it committed to build one primary school for each
 Olympic gold medal won by a Chinese athlete in Beijing.
 
     Project Hope is a non-governmental organization sponsored by the China
 Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) that aims at supporting education in
 China's poverty-stricken areas. The foundation helps children from poor
 Chinese areas with funds collected from society to build and refurbish
 schools and helps drop-out students return to school in spite of poor
 family financial condition. Haier has been a long time partner of Project
 Hope and contributed more than USD 3 million in funds and USD 19.56 million
 in materials for the Hope Project so far. By the end of 2007, Haier had
 built 77 primary schools in 24 provinces, allowing 40,000 students to
 return to school.
 
     In addition to donating Olympic Project Hope Schools, Haier also
 delivers the Olympic Spirit to the Children in China's poverty-stricken
 areas. In June 2007 Haier launched the nationwide program "Haier Olympic
 Project Hope" in partnership with the CYDF. Haier contributed USD 437,500
 to 30 Project Hope primary schools throughout the country, equipping each
 school with a "Haier electronic reading room" comprising a high definition
 Haier television set as well as a library so the children can watch the
 competition and share the joy brought by the Olympic Games while learning
 about Olympic history and experiencing the Olympic movement.
 
     "Committing to social responsibility is a key part of Haier's overall
 strategy. With our "One Gold Medal, One Olympic Hope School" program, Haier
 wants to help the children feel the Olympic Spirit together with the whole
 world, making the world a home," said Haier Group SVP Mr. ZHOU Yunjie.
 
     "Haier is a respected long term contributor to Project Hope and has
 already helped a lot of children throughout China. We are thankful for
 their "One Gold Medal, One Olympic Hope School" program during the Olympic
 Games. Haier's donations will allow thousands of students to improve their
 lives and embrace the Olympic Spirit," said Mr. LI Yadong Director of Hope
 Primary School Department, China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF).
 
     About Haier Group
 
     Founded in Qingdao, Shandong province, China, in 1984 under the
 leadership of ZHANG Ruimin, its current Chairman and CEO, Haier Group Co.
 Ltd. is the world's fourth largest white goods manufacturer. Haier is one
 of the best known Chinese brands in the world, with distribution in over
 160 countries. Haier employs 50,000 people, including 10,000 outside China.
 
 

     For more information, please contact:
 
     Ms. HAN Xiaohua
     Haier Group Co. Ltd.
     Tel:   +86-150-1037-8047
     Email: hxh@haier.com
 
     Mr. Simon VERICEL
     Hill and Knowlton China
     Tel:   +86-10-5861-7570
     Email: simon.vericel@hillandknowlton.com.cn
 
 
 

SOURCE Haier Group