Star Fund marks 5 years of CSR, opens new Hope School in Ya'an

A Mercedes-Benz Star ambassador teaches road safety class using traffic dominos at the hope School in Ya'an. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Mercedes-Benz Star Fund－the first philanthropy platform jointly launched by an automaker and dealers in China's automotive industry－celebrated five years of corporate social responsibility endeavors on Saturday.

To celebrate this milestone, Mercedes-Benz Star Ambassadors embarked on a volunteer journey to experience Star Fund's achievements in the past five years.

While revisiting the city of Ya'an, Sichuan province, the Star Ambassadors helped welcome students to a new school, bringing renewed hope and joy to local children and community members.

The town of Shiyang in Tianquan county, Ya'an, now thriving and full of life, was one of many locales severely damaged by the April 20, 2013, magnitude-7 Lushan Earthquake.

Shortly after the earthquake hit, Mercedes-Benz and its dealer partners donated 20 million yuan ($3.14 million) toward post-disaster relief and reconstruction projects in affected areas.

In addition to building a new hope School to replace one damaged in the quake, Mercedes-Benz helped restore four hospitals and two panda sanctuaries, and conducted research on local sustainable development.

Nearly two years later, coinciding with the Star Fund's fifth anniversary, the post-quake projects in Ya'an are nearly completed.

A cohort of about 130 Star Ambassadors, volunteers made up of Mercedes-Benz executives, Star Fund Management Committee members, dealers, customers, NGO partners and media, revisited Ya'an to commemorate both occasions.

The newly built 8,400-square-meter school, now capable of withstanding a magnitude-8 earthquake, is ready for a strong, fresh start.

Mercedes-Benz has equipped the school with new educational tools, including computers, musical instruments, sports equipment and multimedia devices－capable of supporting 1,300 students and projected to benefit 20,000 people in nine surrounding villages.