"Yili Ark" Spiritual Growth Classroom: Helping Every Child Courageously Converse with Themselves

The spring breeze in March brushes the school grounds, and a heartfelt conversation about “love and acceptance” quietly gets underway at Hohhot No. 32 School.

On the occasion of the 31st National Day of Safety Education for Primary and Secondary School Students, the “Inner Mongolian Ili Ark” children’s safety public welfare project brings a mental health class themed “Hello, Yourself” to the campus. Through artistic expression, it guides children to recognize their emotions and accept themselves through colors and brushstrokes, injecting warm yet steadfast inner strength into their path of growth.

“Inner Mongolian Ili Ark” conducts the “Hello, Yourself” mental health class at Hohhot No. 32 School

A Class Starts with “Getting to Know Yourself”

This event is jointly hosted by the Yili Group, the China Western Talent Development Foundation, and the “I Heart Toward the Sun” Volunteer Service Association. Wei Zhiyong, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development Education at Inner Mongolia Normal University, former Executive Director of the Research Center for New Era Civilized Practice in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Director of the Training Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in Inner Mongolia, and a professor; Hu Zhiyuan, the principal of Hohhot No. 32 School, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; and Qiao Lu, Deputy Chief Executive Vice President of Sustainable and Social Value at the Yili Group, among others, attended the event. Experts involved in the curriculum design included Hu Jing, Director of the Social Service Office in the School of Social Sciences at Beijing Normal University; Luodan Yang, an expert at the Beijing Normal University training and education center; and Chen Shunlin, a cooperative artist at Beijing Normal University and an international young painter.

In the classroom, from interactive games of “Icebreaking and Setting Sail—Meeting Yourself” to the creative segment of “Let the Paintbrush Be the Medium—Depicting Yourself,” the expert team guides the children step by step to open their hearts. “I Heart Toward the Sun” volunteers and the children sit together in groups and create side by side. They listen patiently to the children’s wild ideas, gently guide them to outline the “self” they envision with their paintbrushes, and depict one by one the emotions and dreams hidden deep in their hearts.

Children hold up their artworks to share their insights

When the children raise their colorful paintings to share their reflections, one child said, “Sometimes I worry that I’m not good enough, but today I painted the happy version of myself.” With this single sentence, the most precious takeaway of this mental health class is revealed: from hesitation to courage, from confusion to determination. Through expressing and sharing, the children slowly learn to accept their own imperfections.

Hohhot No. 32 School “Hello, Yourself” mental health class

Hu Zhiyuan said, “The heart growth classroom initiated by the ‘Inner Mongolian Ili Ark’ aligns highly with the school’s teaching philosophy. We hope both sides will work together to safeguard the mental health and safe growth of more children.”

Huzhiyuan, Principal of Hohhot No. 32 School, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

A Group of People—Making the Beauty of Public Welfare Part of Everyday Life

In the classroom, the presence of the “I Heart Toward the Sun” volunteers becomes the warmest backdrop. They create with the children, smiling as they catch every little idea the children have. With gentle encouragement, tender companionship, and co-creation, they integrate the quality of “doing good and benefiting others” into every detail.

“I Heart Toward the Sun” volunteers interact with the children in the classroom

Throughout the process, the volunteers also gain their own growth and come to understand the significance of a sentence of encouragement for children. Some people, through the children’s smiles, come to understand the essence of public welfare—not one-way giving, but a two-way journey of growth and understanding. Beyond Hohhot, “I Heart Toward the Sun” volunteers across the country are also acting in sync, bringing the same warmth into local campuses. The tiny glimmers of psychological protection gather into a torch, illuminating the paths of growth for more children. As a volunteer service network led primarily by Yili employees, “I Heart Toward the Sun” is turning the quality of “doing good and benefiting others” into concrete actions again and again, making the beauty of public welfare continue to happen.

Volunteers of “I Heart Toward the Sun” across the country

In addition, Yili has also teamed up with partners from the sustainable social value ecosystem to participate together. As one of the ecosystem members, the Shanghai Morning Sun Public Welfare Foundation donated courses and supporting materials—such as “Emotion Management” and “Psychological Health Arts Education”—to Hohhot No. 32 School, helping children better recognize emotions and understand themselves as they grow.

This is not the first time Yili has entered Hohhot No. 32 School. Over the years, Yili has consistently regarded it as a key campus partner “right at its doorstep.” On the one hand, through projects such as “Yili Nutrition 2030,” it continues to provide nutritional support for students. On the other hand, it participates in co-building functional spaces such as adolescent activity centers, creating integrated growth spaces that combine reading, quality-focused activities, and mental care, and fostering a campus environment with warmth.

“The Inner Mongolian Ili Ark” is a children’s safety public welfare project jointly launched by Yili Group and the China Western Talent Development Foundation. It advocates that “the best protection is teaching children self-protection.” Since it was launched in 2012, it has cumulatively brought children’s safety education into 650 schools nationwide, safeguarding the safe growth of nearly 390,000 children.

Starting from a single class, the “Inner Mongolian Ili Ark” hopes that “understanding yourself and accepting yourself” becomes the underlying tone in the growth of more children. In the future, Yili will continue to work hand in hand with forces from all sectors of society, focusing on children’s safety and mental health, so that every child can bravely say to themselves—hello.

(Editor: Wang Can)

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