Big Hearted Entrepreneur

July 27， 2011 was a day when businessman Chu Jiwang donated a million yuan to Jiwang Medical Aids Foundation. With this donation， Chu’s contribution to the foundation has amounted to 8 million. Also on this day， employees at Ruyi Company， a manufacturer of hydraulic trucks， donated a total amount of 149，409.70 yuan. Chu and his company have been engaged in various philanthropic undertakings over the last 26 years. In total， Ruyi has donated more than 80 million yuan to public charity programs， poverty-stricken individuals， and local charity organizations. For his exemplary deeds， Chu has been recognized as Ningbo Charity Pacesetter， Zhejiang Charity Star， and Recipient of China Charity Award.

His first meaningful charity program germinated in a summer day in 1980. At that time， he worked as an employee at a local furniture factory. That day， he and some friends were visiting a Buddhist temple five kilometers out of the capital of Ninghai County when they saw about a hundred of people queuing in scorching sunlight for their turn to get mineral water from a stream. Seeing these people standing in the sunlight， Chu wished to have a pavilion there so that some people could stay comfortably away from the heat on such a day. Back home， he asked around and learned that a pavilion would cost about 8，000 to 10，000 yuan to build. He earned 30.50 yuan a month. It would not be possible to build a pavilion out of his own pocket. After talking with a few friends， he decided to start a charity program to raise funds. The responses were unexpectedly warm. The pavilion was erected.

Chu Jiwang did not stop there. He was aware of the potential value of the temple and the hill where the temple is. Since then， Chu has donated three million yuan and raised 6 million through donations from all over the county. The cash donations have successfully transformed the area into a large Buddhist sanctuary with various religious structures and eight roadside pavilions and a series of tourist attractions.

Ruyi is a manufacturer of hydraulic trucks that sell well on the international market. As a big manufacturer， Ruyi has more than 500 partners that make parts and components. In choosing these manufacturers， Chu goes out of his way to find qualified factories in poverty-stricken areas and help them grow and stand on their own feet. Take Longqiang Forge Plant in Fuyang， a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Hangzhou. In the autumn of 1986 the factory began to make parts for Ruyi. The village is located in mountains about 35 kilometers from the city proper. The factory was small with a labor force of 30 plus farmer-turned workers. Chu said such a factory would not grow and take off without help. Over years， he sent five experts there. Each stayed there for half a year， teaching the workers how to make quality products. In order to help the factory expand its production capacity， Ruyi gave it a loan of 3 million. The village factory has now grown into a large manufacturer with a yearly output of more than 40 million and number one taxpayer in the region.

In May 2008， Chu was in America on a business trip when he learned about the killer earthquake in Sichuan Province. He immediately called the company and instructed it to donate one million yuan. After his return， the company donated another million. Still he thought it was not enough. He asked his family and employees to donate. Individual donations amounted to 200，000.

Chu and his company have donated 10.6 million to Ninghai County Charity Federation， Ninghai Red Cross， and Ningbo Charity Federation since 2008.

Chu himself has helped numerous individuals and families in difficult situations. With his financial help， a young woman was able to have a brain surgery. After her recovery， she got married and had a baby. An employee ran into a family tragedy on his wedding night. His five relatives died in a fire. Chu and his colleagues donated cash to help the employee go through the loss of five relatives.