A TIME FOR ACTION
A TIME FOR SORROW - CEIBS administrators and directors at the Shanghai main campus undertook a moment of silence, led by President Zhu Xiaoming (at center, right) after the earthquake.
By Laurie Underwood & Echo Zhou
In the eight weeks since the 8.0 magnitude Sichuan Earthquake, the CEIBS Community - and the entire Chinese nation - has experienced a series of different emotions and reactions. First was the initial shock and horror, then came grief and sympathy, and then, for many of our students, alumni, faculty, staff, sponsors, and alumni companies, came action.
During May and June, CEIBS joined relief efforts underway around the nation, and around the world. The methods and styles of offering assistance varied widely but the end result was the same: offering help to those suffering from the impact of China's worst earthquake since 1949. With over 80,000 killed, 380,000 injured, as well as several million made homeless by this tragedy (as of end of June), there have been many opportunities to offer tangible assistance.
Most impressive was the outpouring of community spirit and active volunteerism that emerged among CEIBS alumni, students, faculty and staff. Within days after the disaster, our CEIBS website (www.ceibs.edu) was expanded to offer a special Earthquake Relief homepage posting information on donating to qualified relief funds, volunteering, or other information sharing. Within minutes after creating this site, announcements from CEIBS alumni began flowing in, offering advice on donating to different NGOs, serving as a volunteer, as well as words of sympathy, encouragement and hope for those in the disaster epicenter. Several alumni were even inspired to write poems to express their mixture of grief over the disaster and encouragement for the relief work. In particular, the CEIBS Beijing campus assisted by producing five issues (so far) of a special online newsletter, Xinhe News, which highlights the earthquake relief actions undertaken by CEIBS alumni - all uploaded to the CEIBS website (in Chinese).
One of the clearest forms of support from the entire extended CEIBS community was in organizing successful donation drives. The CEIBS faculty, staff, students and alumni organized donation drives which collected RMB1.43 million, which was donated to the Red Cross of Shanghai on May 27. Meanwhile, among the school's more than 7000 alumni, many organized fundraisers among classmates, alumni clubs, and within their companies. In true business-school fashion, many of these individuals and groups engaged in creative fundraising activities such as reunions, lectures, auctions, and even stage performances. Especially inspiring: two alumni-sponsored auctions held in Shanghai and Shenzhen, respectively, each raised over RMB1 million each. The result: by late June, CEIBS fundraising had collected RMB2 billion in earthquake relief funding from alumni, alumni companies, students and staff combined. (Full reports of donations from individuals and companies, can be found on the CEIBS website at: www.ceibs.edu.)
In the pages that follow, The LINK pays tribute to these innovative and effective means of supporting the earthquake relief efforts. We would also like to offer heartfelt thanks to the dozens of CEIBS sponsors who sent funding and donated equipment, supplies, and other assistance to the disaster area.
Most impressive of all, of course, were those in the CEIBS community who volunteered their own time, energy, and expertise by working in quake-struck regions. This issue's cover story features the first-hand account of dozens of alumni and students who traveled to the disaster region to work as volunteers. In particular, The LINK honours the 12 alumni from the CEIBS Diploma in Hospital Management Programme (DIHMP) who volunteered their professional medical services in Sichuan to assist the injured. This magazine also honours those volunteers who offered their assistance by delivering emergency supplies, helping with building reconstruction, teaching children left without schools, or organizing activities and performances for homeless families on Children's Day.
Throughout these efforts, the spirit of innovative social activism among CEIBS volunteers shines brightly. This community involvement, unity, and hope is evident in the words of alumni Xu Ying (Diploma in Management Programme 2001) who submitted the following diary entry to the CEIBS website after working to rebuild a grade school in the disaster area: "Of course I will come back here; we've only just begun the work necessary. I believe more and more CEIBS people will come to help. I am sure the re-built schools will be both beautiful and indestructible. I am convinced that every child in Dujiangyan will enjoy a happy life; after surviving the calamity, they will love and cherish every aspect of life more."
