China Daily Global Edition (USA)
PepsiCo adds fizz to charity appeal
PepsiCo Greater China launched its annual New Year charity campaign — Postal Parcels for Mothers — on Saturday and delivered parcels to poverty-stricken women at Longchang village, Mashan county, one of the poorer areas of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
“I guess it is a quilt as the weather is growing cold,” said Tang Meihua, a 43-year-old villager who looks after five children.
Almost 1,000 women in the village received the same parcel valued at 200 yuan ($30) which contained blankets, gloves and hats.
“It’s very useful,” Tang said. The parcels prove invaluable for families whose annual per capita income is below 2,300 yuan.
Tang said: “Every penny very welcome.”
Started by the China Women’s Development Foundation in 2012, Postal Parcels for Mothers was set up to offer aid to women in poverty-stricken areas and has won the highest charity award in China.
PepsiCo joined the project in 2013.
Yao Weiwei, general manager of PepsiCo Greater China, said: “This year we are not only delivering parcels but we are being joined by actor Zhang Yishan, who starred in the television sitcom is Home with Kids, to hand out the parcels to the mothers. A parcel won’t help them out radically, but we hope to encourage more young people to engage in welfare programs.”
According to Yao, in the past five years, PepsiCo has donated more than 10,000 parcels amounting to a total donation of 4 million yuan.
The annual charity event has grown to be PepsiCo’s signature marketing program in China.
Zhu Baoming, director of the mother health express department of the CWDF, said: “As our long-term strategic partner, PepsiCo has been supportive since the Water Cellars for Mothers program since launch in 2001. We hope more companies like PepsiCo get involved in welfare works, making contributions to society while expanding their own businesses.”
As a global food giant, PepsiCo serves 1 billion consumers in 200 countries every day. The company generated more than $63 billion net revenue in 2015.