a visit to the bluestar summer camp beijing branch
the period from late july to early august is the happiest time for the children of bluestar employees, because thousands of these children will get together at bluestar summer camps all across the country to enjoy themselves. on aug 2, reporters paid a visit to the beijing branch and were immediately fascinated by the atmosphere of chinese and foreign cultures and the innovative model of corporate social responsibility. the bluestar summer camp has become an effective way to spread the company culture and pave the way for the cultural integration of companies in china and abroad. the storms in the sky above beijing’s shunyi district finally left and the children here threw themselves into their various activities, involving chinese kung fu, a basketball match, street dancing, and singing the camp song ”growing under the blue sky”. every place reporters went was covered with excitement children.
“a flower under the sky, nurtured by morning dew, the flower returns the favor with its fragrance, big sky, comfort from wind and a feather, i’ll fly far and wide.”
“no fear of wind and rain, the sun will drive them away, we begin with a smile, and we’ll grow up happily.”
li huili, a leader of the beijing branch, explained, “no only the campers themselves love the song, but the employees as well, because it conveys a sense of gratitude.” in 1990, when bluestar started its cleaning business, the employees often had to work far from home, which caused difficulties for their children during the summer vacation. to deal with their problems, ren jianxin opened the first bluestar summer camp to instill team spirit and independence in the employees’ children, under a permanent theme of “bluestar, we are family”, but with each camp having its own different theme every year, with the idea of caring for the next generation. and, now, 23 years after that modest beginning, the camp has created a sort of miracle.
as bluestar’s business grew over the years, the summer camp also grew, step by step, across the country. and, in recent years, with the acquisition of france’s adisseo and rhodia’s organic silicon and sulfate business, and australia’s qenos, the camp has been especially good, and is held in 24 areas, with tens of thousands of employees’ children, from more than 10 countries taking part every year.
bluestar has always funded the summer camp and has spent more than 70 million yuan over the past 20 years. when asked if it is worth it, xi yuxin, the head of the bluestar communication department, said that the camp is a matter of social responsibility for sustainable development and shows the care for the company’s employees and the next generation, and bluestar’s value and social responsibility.
xi said she thought that, as an economic entity, bluestar should give priority to creating economic value for its shareholders. but, as an enterprise, it needs to pursue economic benefits but it also needs to look after social responsibility and there are many ways for a company to fulfill its social responsibility. but the main thing is that corporate social responsibility should not be something just on paper, and cultural construction is not just for show. we have to take concrete steps, xi emphasized and, in the final analysis, we need to attend to our own things to maximize economic benefits. and the bluestar summer camp is clear, practical, and worthy way to do that and something to be proud of.
the rapid expansion of bluestar’s operations, especially in reaching international status, there were often chinese and foreign cultural differences, which meant the company had to integrate various cultures and explore new ways of overseas development and cultural fusion. and, the bluestar summer camp has been one effective way to smooth the cultural exchanges between enterprises in china and abroad. at camp meetings, the staff and many volunteers have shared their feelings with reporters and the camp teachers and staff have worked very hard to make foreign children familiar with bluestar, to help them understand its culture, and to merge with bluestar’s big family and embrace them through various activities.
li, the beijing leader, went on to say, "the bluestar summer camp has been handed down as a tradition over the years and has become an important part of bluestar culture. but few people know the pains it took during the construction phase,” and she told of how many employees had racked their brains to prepare food for foreign children, and finally how these foreign friends, who only ate dry bread at every meal, become interested in chinese food. when they said they wanted to eat chinese food when they returned home, the camp workers couldn't help feeling the joy. and time passed quickly and bluestar evolved nicely over the past 23 years. some former campers are now bluestar employees, or college students. reporters also saw a lot of college volunteers in the camp, who, without exception, had all been campers before and who had excellent foreign language skills. one college volunteer, chai jing, told of how she studies ethnic group languages and hopes that more children can take part.
feng tianhan, a student from tianjin foreign studies university, said he still cherishes his time at the summer camp and still gets nostalgic every july and august when he thinks of the camp that lasted more than 20 days and added, "the bluestar summer camp accompanied me during the most important time of my childhood and gave me so many extraordinary memories and nutrients, which are still useful to me today.
so, the summer camp has fostered a group of wonderful children and they’ve grow up to embrace society and have become useful, talented, splendid people who resemble the exuberant trees of july and august, which grow up into the sky with a magnificent appearance.