The third awarded Junior Team is situated in Sanjiang, 1650 km East of Suzhou. The town is located high in the mountains. The main revenue in the region is from the cultivation of rice and tea. This time the donation went to one of the many public primary schools where the majority of the students come from poorer families.
With the money we were able to buy new sport gears for members of basketball and athletics teams such as running shoes, T-shirts, tracksuits, basket balls and badminton rackets for almost 50 children aged from 7 to 12. Some of the children have never owned sport shoes earlier.
“With these actions we want to offer those who need it the opportunity to pursue their goals rather than feeling like outsiders. I hope the children in the basketball team and the other sport teams will enjoy the equipment donated by K.Hartwall and that it will bring joy and hope to all of them.” says Mr. Christer Bauer, General Manager of K.Hartwall (Suzhou) Trading Co., Ltd.
“The Junior Sport Team program also supports the idea of team spirit which is at the heart of the K.Hartwall corporate culture,” he adds.
The donation was carried out on 23rd of April with the K.Hartwall team from Suzhou visiting the school, meeting the children and participating to some activities such as painting and dance. We were first welcome by children playing Lusheng music and offering local tea. After a welcome speech by one of the students we spent the day celebrating with the children and their teachers. We also visited some of the local attractions like the majestic Chengyang Bridge. The day ended with a feast to taste all the local specialities. The local TV channel and authorities from the town of Sanjiang were also eager to participate to the event. “Tuesday 23rd of April 2019 will remain in my memories as a day of friendship and joy. The warm welcoming to the school and the thoughtful planning of the day with a fantastic program will never be forgotten.”, mentioned Mr Bauer.
The JST program is due to run for 5 years and hopefully we will reach all continents during that time. After China and Africa our next donation will be for a Junior Sport Team in Europe. We will tell more about it within the next few months.
We hope that such a program will inspire other companies to take similar actions.
