Ground Broken for Hope School in Sichuan Today
TNT Kicks Off its "TNT Future Leader" Educational Aid Program

(April 17, 2009, Shanghai) With investment from TNT, the leading international express transportation provider, the ground was broken today for a Hope School in the earthquake-hit area of Guangyuan City in Sichuan Province. Carrying the hearts and well-wishes of nearly 17,000 employees at TNT China, the 'TNT Future Leader' Hope School will be completed by August this year to serve about 400 students. After the earthquake last year, TNT transported more than 2,300 tons of relief aid, including construction materials for 600 temporary anti-quake classrooms, and thus enabled 30,000 students to return to the classroom; TNT and its employees provided a total of almost RMB 7 million in terms of donations and in-kind transportation services. As well as enabling the construction of the 'TNT Future Leader' Hope School, TNT' s Post-Disaster Educational Aid Program, in partnership with the China Youth Development Foundation, also includes setting up 30 'TNT Future Leader' libraries and sponsoring 300 high-school students in Sichuan and Gansu province through 'TNT Future Leader'  Scholarships.

The 'TNT Future Leader' Hope School will be built in the original location of the primary school of Jin Xian County in Yuanba District. In order to ensure safety and enable both teachers and students to return to their normal lives of work and study as soon as possible, TNT donated RMB 1 million for the construction of the Hope School through its partner, China Youth Development Foundation.

Wang Min, vice secretary of China Youth Development Foundation said, "We are extremely grateful to TNT China for its efforts to support disaster relief by providing logistics and financial assistance. We believe that TNT' s Post-Disaster Educational Aid Program will not only provide children with material assistance, but also allow the children who were affected by the disaster to gain a sense of the love felt by a multi-national company and its employees who care about their plight; this will give them the spiritual encouragement they need to help them forget the pain, and regain their confidence and dreams for the future."

Michael Drake, regional managing director of TNT, said, "Education is important for every child and we will do our best to continue to support the post-disaster relief effort by helping the affected students return to school as soon as possible. The name of our Educational Aid Program, 'TNT Future Leaders', reflects our hope that every child will have the opportunity of a good education so that they are able to become the future leaders of society."