China Construction Bank Wins the Second China Poverty Eradication Special Contribution Award

October 17 is the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Today this year the ceremony of the second China Poverty Eradication Awards co-hosted by China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and China Construction Bank (CCB) was held in the Great Hall of the People. 10 organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to poverty reduction received the awards and CCB became the only organizational winner of the Second China Poverty Eradication Special Contribution Award. The bank’s moving stories of helping the poor are the best illustration of the efforts of the Chinese people to fight poverty.

With the approval of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, together with a number of media including People’s Daily and CCTV, launches the China Poverty Eradication Awards initiative, with the purpose of rewarding those organizations and individuals who have made great contributions to China’s poverty eradication undertaking, disseminating their experiences and stories and achieving the vision of “mobilizing all circles of the society to be involved in China’s poverty eradication efforts and building a harmonious socialist society”. China Poverty Eradication Awards, as a biannual award, are issued to 10 winners including organizations and individuals.

Guo Shuqing, CCB Chairman, told the reporter the reason CCB sponsors the China Poverty Eradication Awards is that all of its staffs are deeply concerned about the development of poor areas and the life of the poor population. Helping the poor is the virtue of the Chinese nation lasting over several thousand years. As a lofty undertaking, poverty alleviation requires the support and help from all over the society. As a business with a high sense of social responsibility, CCB is ready to make due contributions to China’s poverty eradication cause. In the future, the bank will better fulfill its corporate citizenship, support, as always, the development of education, health, culture, sports and other social activities and play an active part in promoting community development, building a harmonious society and creating a beautiful tomorrow.

To sponsor such an activity is beneficial to enhancing CCB’s communications with the public, building its brand image, raising its internal cohesive force and improving the moral of its staffs.

It is said that in 1996 CCB, with the donation of its employees, established the “CCB Care Fund”. Over 10 years the Fund has donated altogether RMB34.726 million to 86 institutions of higher learning and more than 16,000 poor university students, 30 “CCB Hope Primary Schools”, China Foundation for Encouraging Brave Act and China Children and Teenagers’ Fund, the areas in Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Fujian and Guangxi hit by storm, earthquake, flood and other disasters and the fight against the SARS epidemic. CCB’s active efforts of fulfilling social responsibilities and supporting public welfare are highly recognized by the society and make it the winner of a number of awards such as the “Public Welfare Award”, “Special Outstanding Award for Love for Children” and “China Red Cross Love Medal”.