[CJ OliveNetworks = October 11, 2018 (Thursday)] CJ OliveNetworks announced on October 11 that it delivered about 500 books donated by its staff members in commemoration of the “International Day of the Girl Child” to “Salvation Army Durihome,” a welfare facility for single mothers.

The book donation ceremony was held on October 10 at 5:00 p.m. at the Salvation Army Durihome located in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, with CJ OliveNetworks staff members and people concerned of Salvation Army Durihome and G Foundation, an NGO’s international development cooperation, in attendance. On that day, the staff members not only donated the books but also personally installed bookshelves in the welfare facility and organized the books to contribute to improving the reading environment for the marginalized women. 

The books sharing campaign was planned in line with the “International Day of the Girl Child (October 11)” that the United Nations designated in 2011 to protect the rights of girls socially discriminated and lacking in the opportunity to learn. As such, CJ OliveNetworks prepared the campaign so that any staff member could participate in helping marginalized women in this autumn, which is the best season for reading.

Thanks to the active participation of the staff members, about 500 books of various fields including the humanities, social sciences, economics, and natural sciences were collected between October 1 and 8. The staff members also personally made and donated bookmarks with encouraging messages written as a way to share the joy of reading with the girls. The donated books are expected to be lent to single mothers at the library in the welfare facility.

In particular, the campaign was more meaningful as it was a volunteering and sharing event held jointly by the IT Business Division and Olive Young, a health and beauty store of CJ OliveNetworks.

A CJ OliveNetworks officer said, “We focus on promoting the social awareness on problems faced by marginalized women and encouraging the Korean society to empathize with them to lead to their coexistence with the local society. We hope that the women would find leisure in life and build great dreams through the joy of reading books.” 

CJ OliveNetworks has actively joined efforts to support the education of girls living in a difficult environment through the “UNESCO’s Brighter Future for Girls through Education” campaign. Its IT Business Division has held the “STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)” camp for marginalized Korean students last September to provide them with the high-quality software education. Olive Young has saved a part of the profit made from the sales of goods since 2014 for the campaign and has donated it to UNESCO, thereby encouraging “kind consumption” for girls in developing countries. (The end)