L'Oreal smiles on students faces

Cosmetics company L'Oreal has developed a corporate social responsibility in the form of financial and mental support for college students.
In 2010, Wu Caitianzi, a senior journalism student at Minzu University of China, took part in L'Oreal's on-campus charity sale for the third time.
The sale is no regular business promotion. Initiated by L'Oreal China and China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF), it is aimed at raising money for financially disadvantaged college students in western areas of China by helping the students to sell the company's cosmetic products.
Wu acted as a beauty consultant in the 2008 sale. Wearing high heels for two entire working days, she and her colleagues attended to more than 1,000 buying students.
"I was standing and talking all the time, which was the hardest part," Wu said. "I felt happy and proud because not only was I doing community work, but I was also helping other students who are in need."
Many of her fellow students helped, she said.
Raised in a middle-income family in Dandong, Liaoning province, Wu was taught by her parents to perform charitable acts to the best of her ability.
"L'Oreal offers a platform for people like me to show our true heart," she said.
In 2009, Wu joined the sale again, this time, as a member of a student group who had won the chance to organize the sale at Minzu University campus after a fiercely contested competition.
She recalled taking a whole semester to plan and bring about the sale with the team, while carefully balancing the workload with her school performance.
"I felt my work ability rising during the process, especially after L'Oreal staff gave us guidance," she said, adding that the experience helped her to prepare for job hunting in the future.
Wu is not the only one who has benefited from the company's charity sale project.
In the belief that "being supported" should be followed by "self-supporting" and then "supporting others", L'Oreal China offers a set of services to the students, including giving funds directly, providing mental care, and sponsoring student activities both technically and financially.
Through the on-campus sale in eight key universities around the country, it has raised 6 million yuan ($910,000) since it started the project in 2003. This has helped 2,000 students at 22 universities in 14 cities in western China. Some of the beneficiaries get the money in the form of scholarships; others, like Wu Caitianzi, receive it as part of a fund for school activities.
"I stuck with the L'Oreal project because of its continuity and creativity," Wu said. Three out her four years at college life were associated with the activities.
She said she found that although lots of companies held charity events on campus, they were mostly alike and are not always present.
"Every year I found new themes that go with the regular sale," she said. "They're refreshing and centered closely on students' lives, which make them attractive."
In 2007, the company launched strong society-relevant sub-projects, focusing on rewarding excellent students in 2007, sponsoring students' independent on-campus charitable activities in 2008, students' independent start-up businesses in 2009, and dealing with students' mental health in 2010.
"We don't want to repeat ourselves," said L'Oreal China's Vice-President Lan Zhenzhen.
"Carrying out charitable should adapt according to any change in the situation. This year there have been incidents that highlight psychological problems that some students suffer, so we paid special attention to that," Lan said. "I'm pleased that our efforts have had positive influences on many young people."
In the middle of last December, L'Oreal China's new Chief Executive Officer Alexis Perakis-Valat visited Peking University to donate 1 million yuan raised from the 2010 charity sale and a further 200,000 yuan specifically for the care of mental health care to representatives from the eight universities.
Perakis-Valat said he was honored that his debut on the Chinese charity stage was associated with helping the college students.
"Education is one permanent focus of L'Oreal worldwide," he said. "It helps developing talents. Our project in China, in existence for years, shows the solidarity between company and society, while also making it possible for people to achieve a meaningful and better life."
Having worked with the company for eight years, CYDF's General Secretary Tu Meng said he was very impressed by a student drama at Fudan University that tried to summarize how the students benefited through taking part in the project.
"The performer said, 'I'm able to sell things now'," said Tu. "How wonderful and important is the skill the student learned."
Tu praises L'Oreal's use of a practical and multi-layered model to help students to have a balanced development.
"The exploration of the model is particularly important as it represents the essence of corporations fulfilling their social responsibility through performing charitable acts. It has expanded from aiding the poor to working for public welfare, especially after the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008," said Wang Yi, director of CYDF's charity sale center.