Fifty kids in one of China’s poorest regions are enjoying an education thanks to a joint donation made by Aspers at The Gate and the Newcastle Chinese Golf Association.

A group of five members from the association recently travelled to the province of Yunnan in south-west China, where they are paying school fees for 50 children in a remote mountain village. They went to meet the young people they are helping and to present them with educational equipment that has been provided by Aspers.

“We found out about the young people in Yunnan in 2008 from one of our members, Tony Cheng who’s been sponsoring two of the children since then. For 2010 we’ve decided to make this our official charity, which means we can support many more” said Terry Kwong, Secretary of the Newcastle Chinese Golf Association. “It was also great that Aspers chose to support us by providing all the equipment the young people will need in school.”

Terry continued: “It’s a hard place to get to with flights to Hong Kong and then a bus trip across the border, then another internal flight followed by an eight hour drive on mountain roads, but it was great to actually meet the kids and see the smiles on their faces when we gave them the stationery. It’s only simple things like paper, pens and school bags, but without it they would really struggle at school.”

Yunnan – which literally means ‘South of the Clouds’ – is a mountainous area and the group travelled to more than 2km above sea level on their journey to the children’s school, where they spent three days. From a population of 45 million in the province, only around 18 million have had a primary school education and around one fifth of adults are illiterate or semi-literate. The support from Aspers, and the Chinese Golf Association means the young people can go on to employment or further education.

“Aspers has strong links with the local Chinese community and we’ve supported the Newcastle Chinese Golf Association for many years, so I was thrilled to get involved when Terry approached me,” said Richard Smith, General Manager of Aspers at The Gate. “It’s amazing that something as simple as stationery can make such a difference to people’s lives and this will help them to take full advantage of their place at the local school.”

Since opening in 2005 Aspers has built a strong partnership with the local Chinese community, including supporting various improvements in the city’s Chinatown and paying for the illumination of the city’s Chinese ceremonial arch in 2009. This is the first time Aspers has had the opportunity to support good causes in China itself.

Aspers is open to those aged 18 and over.  Photo ID is required if you look under 21 and to join the Aspire Loyalty Club.  www.gambleaware.co.uk

ENDS

Issued on behalf of Aspers at The Gate

by Point Pleasant Communications

For further information please contact Rob Lawson

on (0191) 275 9778 (Mobile: 07940 501 993) or email rob@point-pleasant.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

·Aspers is a 45,000ft2 leisure facility in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne.

·The venue includes bars, restaurant, beauty spa, live entertainment and state-of-the-art gaming facilities.

·Aspers has attracted almost 170,000 members in just under five years from a catchment area covering Northumberland and County Durham, reaching across to Cumbria and down to York.

· In late 2007 Aspers became the first casino operator in the country to launch a loyalty club – Aspire – that allows customers to collect and redeem points throughout its operations (including gaming).  Customers are now able to gain points for every purchase made on the premises and can also earn bonus points on selected promotions. 

· In April 2008, Aspers became the first British casino to go ‘membership free’ which means that virtually all visitors can freely walk through the reception area without completing membership forms.

· At every Aspers location, the company has set up the Community Action for Responsible Gaming (CARG) programme. This initiative is unique to Aspers and is based on similar successful schemes in Australia and New Zealand. CARG is a voluntary, not-for-profit group that seeks to constructively address problem gambling issues in society through a working partnership between local community-based interest groups.