Henkel Gives the Gift of Reading

Shanghai, China, November 10, 2014

Light Up, an internal Henkel MIT initiative, has provided a whole library that will transform the lives of more than 340 children in Guangdong province. Read on for the full story of this extraordinary donation.

“I believe that change in the world begins and ends with education. I believe in access to children’s books and literacy, and supporting teachers and rural educators in China.” This statement from Tom Stader shows his passion for bringing books to some of the poorest children in China. Together with a group of like-minded friends he set up a project that aims to open more than 1,400 libraries in China and Vietnam: The Library Project.

Forging corporate partnerships has been key to the charity’s success and a partnership with Henkel helps to invests in the future of children and their experience of reading. Thanks to the Henkel MIT project “Light Up” Stader was able to make this dream a reality for the Shangting primary school in Guangdong province. Henkel employees who signed up to the MIT scheme were encouraged to donate books for the library. At the end of the day, a donation of 3,631 Euros was given to the project – a package that did not only contain books, but also the opportunity to transform a whole room in the school into a unique space for reading.

Also the 19 teachers at the Shangting primary benefit from this generous donation. They now have more than 1,000 new books to use as teaching resources and also have a nice room to offer. “Before this donation, we only had a few books stored in an old room – only a few students came to that room after school. Now, things have changed,” explains the school’s head teacher. “This room is not only fun and interesting but also safe for children to play and relax. Our students can now broaden their knowledge through reading various books in a nice environment.”

Henkel employees have donated and given a gift that will inspire these youngsters for their whole lives. Amy Zhou, project leader from Henkel, attended a special ceremony at the school when the donation was made and shared her memories from that day: “At the school in Guangdong you could really see the impact the donation from Henkel had on the lives of these children. The children were looking at the books and sharing them around, some were even dancing. It was nice to see them so happy.

About The Library Project

Founded in 2006, The Library Project is a non-profit charity organization that donates libraries to the under-financed schools, orphanages and community centers in Asia. They believe education is the key motivator to breaking the cycle of poverty that exists in the developing world. Up to now, The Library Project has established over 1400 rural primary school libraries in China and Vietnam. They’ve put more than 600,000 local language children’s books into the hands of eager young readers. Over 500,000 children now have access to improved educational infrastructure. The Library Project is a registered 501(c)3 charity in the United States, is a charity partner of the China Population Welfare Foundation – a non-profit charity organization approved by the China Ministry of Civil Affairs Registry, and is a registered non-profit organization in Hong Kong. All donations are tax-deductible in the USA, China and Hong Kong.