Hyatt on the Bund celebrates the success of the Vue Restaurant Charity Month programme by donating libraries to under-financed schools in Anhui Province

Hyatt on the Bund, one of the top luxury international hotels in Shanghai, celebrates the success of its charity programme – the Vue Restaurant Charity Month – with more than 150 guests, media and employees today.

From 1 March to 31 December 2010, Vue Restaurant, the hotel’s award-wining signature restaurant, offered two specially designed set menus each month, with 10% of the revenue generated from their purchase donated to The Library Project.

“Vue Restaurant is the most popular dining venue in our hotel and has been recognized as the best European restaurant in Shanghai since opening in 2007. Vue is also very active in social and community programmes,” says Mr. Gottfried Bogensperger, general manager of Hyatt on the Bund, who adds, “With the support of our great media partners, such as Shanghai Daily, Noblesse, City Weekend, TimeOut and Femina, to name just a few, we were able to raise a total of CNY128,977 for our charity fund. This is enough for more than 21,500 books and we are delighted that we will now be able to set up more libraries in remote areas of Anhui Province.”

The Library Project’s main objective is to donate books and set up libraries in schools and orphanages in developing areas in China. “We believe that education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty that exists in developing areas of China. It is everyone’s role in the community to be involved in this CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programme,” says Christine Zhu, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Shanghai Daily, one of the long-term partners of the Vue Charity Month Programme.

“Libraries put children in the driver’s seat of their education,” says Tom Stader, founder of The Library Project. “Library books are different from textbooks. Kids can be inspired by the teachers during their lessons and then explore their interests further in a library. With a library, children have more access to an improved educational infrastructure and their imagination is stimulated.”

Around 150 guests, including media, Library Project representatives, hotel employees and children from the local community, attended the fun gathering held at the hotel today. The event was designed as a high-tea party, along with a series of activities, including letter-writing, painting, book donations and a charity fund handover ceremony. Many guests also brought with them their favorite books and asked the hotel to take them to the libraries when the team goes on its second field trip in April. “I just want to share my favorite book with them,” says Yan Junwen, an 8-year-old girl at a local school. “I hope I can visit them at their school one day.”

A field trip will be organized in the near future to establish libraries in She County in Anhui Province. A team of representatives from the media, hotel employees and guests will visit the schools and participate in setting up the libraries, as well as in such other activities as painting, games and actually building the libraries, where needed.