Warm-heart car owners share experiences

A "power up for love" themed party was attended by about 150 BMW car owners, who shared their experiences of charity work, in the ancient city of Xi'an on Oct 30.

They are all members of BWM warm-heart customer clubs, which participate in BMW corporate social responsibility activities and try to unite local forces to do charity work and help solve social problems.

At the event, Jingbaohui, the Beijing BMW warm-heart customer club, was officially established, the 12th club of its kind in China.

These clubs are independent organizations established and organized by BMW warm-heart customers.

The 12 clubs have a total of 2,500 members and help more than 15,000 people annually. On average, the clubs hold more than 150 charity events a year.

BMW believes that under the current new normal economic status in China, the development of society requires innovation. The automakers said innovation means not only technological innovation, but also societal innovation, which means solving social problems in innovative, effective and sustainable ways.

As a company based on innovation and perspective, BMW said it is fulfilling its CSR activities in an innovative way by offering a platform for all stakeholders - BMW employees, dealers and customers - to do charity work together and give back to society effectively.

"Fulfilling social responsibility is an indispensable part of BMW's localization efforts in China. We are combining our advantages with China's conditions, practicing our CSR in the fields of resources, intercultural communication and social inclusion and education." said Sun Wei, vice-president of corporate affairs with BMW Group Region China.

"All-party engagement is one of our CSR principles," Sun added, "We are very glad to join hands with thousands of BMW warm-heart customers, throwing ourselves into CSR activities. The support and participation of BMW customers is an important force for the development of BMW CSR activities."

Han Song, president of the Jingbaohui club, said, "I want to express my gratitude to the BMW Warm Heart Fund because it offers a platform for us to do charity work, to make like-minded friends, and contributes to the foundation of our club."

"With the establishment of our club, I believe that we will attract more BMW owners, and help to solve the social problems around us," he added.

Shen Yufeng, a Beijing BMW owner said he visited a Tibetan boy's home in August 2012 when he volunteered for the first time with the WHF in Yushu, Qinghai province.

He said he never expected to meet the boy, called Sodnam Tashi, again. However, two years later he returned to Yushu with the WHF and spent two weeks with students at Ganda Village Primary School.

"On the first day there, I felt that some of the students in my class looked quite familiar, so I asked them if we had met before," Shen said.

Shen said Sodnam Tashi smiled bashfully and another boy, Krinli Bunor, pointed to grass behind the school's canteen and said, "we had a meal together there".

"My heart trembled at that moment," Shen said, "My memories flew back as clear as a picture, but clearly the children have better memories than me."

Days and nights spent with the students made leaving the school very difficult for Shen.

When the last day finally arrived, Shen gave each student a high five. "My heart was hurt every time I high fived with them. The younger students still smiled, the older ones were really emotional and asked me when will I come back next year," he said.

"The happier the time is, the harder to say farewell. But I will come back again for sure. This is fate, " Shen said.

Yi Jin from Beijing was one of the first BMW customers to join the WHF in 2008. He has taken part in most WHF charity activities during the past seven years, as well as some projects initiated by the volunteers themselves.

"Although we are BMW owners, I think volunteer is a better word to identify our status when we participate WHF activities," Yi said.

"Being a volunteer means we should service people's hearts and souls and be selfless," he said, "This is the biggest difference between BMW WHF and other charity work, and that attracts me the most."

"I have spent seven years with WHF. In the future, I will continue to contribute to the WHF activities as a pure volunteer," he said, "Through our efforts, I hope more people will know WHF."

Founded in 2008, WHF has drawn more than 250 BMW dealers, 70,000 BMW warm-heart customers and BMW employees to participate in charity work, which benefited more than 91,000 people by the end of 2014.