Vans' charity initiative is continuing this year, with the brand occasionally returning to provinces they've previously visited every few years.
For example, they traveled to Shibing County, Guizhou, in 2020. This year, they are back in Guizhou, visiting Songtao County in Tongren City and Dawan Town in Liupanshui City.
Vans previously donated clothing, shoes, art, and music supplies to the Haiga Primary School in Dawan Town back in 2019, and this year they continued the effort by donating new winter clothes and shoes.
However, for this current trip, we are only visiting two middle schools in Songtao County. Songtao County has a population of about 740,000, with roughly 70% being of the Miao ethnic group. The average annual income in rural areas is 14,000 RMB (approximately $1,966 USD), making it a key county targeted for national rural revitalization support. Vans previously donated 5,030 pairs of shoes to the Songtao County Nationalities Middle School in 2021.
Vans 公益行今年继续走起来了，Vans 的公益行每隔几年就有可能回到一个之前去过的省份。比如 2020 年就去到了贵州施秉，今年则是来到贵州铜仁市松桃县，和六盘水市大湾镇。Vans 曾在 2019 年就向大湾镇的海噶小学捐赠过衣物鞋子，绘画和音乐用品。今年又继续捐赠了新的棉衣和鞋子。不过本次我们前往的地方只有松桃县的两所中学。松桃县约 74 万人口，大约七成为苗族。农村地区人均年收入 1.4 万元，是国家乡村振兴重点帮扶县。 2021 年，Vans 也为松涛县民族中学捐赠过 5,030 双鞋。
Changxing Middle School 长兴中学
The first stop on this trip was to provide shoes for Changxing Middle School, which was founded in 1969.
The school currently has 21 classes, serving 1,042 students and supported by 98 faculty and staff members.
这次第一站就是为创办于 1969 年的长兴中学准备鞋子。该学校目前有 21 个班，1,042 个学生和 98 位教职工。
The shoes provided by Vans this time were matched to the size of every single student, and included a wide variety of styles.
本次 Vans 准备的鞋子也是匹配了每个学生的尺码，款式也是什么样都有。
During our conversation, the teacher also told us that at its peak, the school had over 2,800 students, but every year the number of new students drops by over a hundred. Four surrounding schools have closed down in the last five years.
聊天中，老师也告诉我们，学校学生最多的时候有 2,800 人，但差不多每年新生都会减少 100 多人。周边五年内关了四所学校了。
Due to its geographical location, the school also faces a severe water shortage, with water only being pumped up to the teaching building periodically. Furthermore, the washstands on the playground were donated only a few years ago by an environmental investment company.
该学校因为地势原因，水资源也很匮乏，教学楼定期才会抽一点水上来。而操场上的洗漱台，也是几年前的一家环保投资有限公司捐赠的。
Pujue Middle School 普觉镇中学
Pu Jue Town Middle School became the main activity venue for this trip—in addition to the donation—due to its ample playground, activity space, and existing sports infrastructure. This is a rural junior middle school that currently has 24 classes, serving 1,507 students and supported by 89 faculty and staff members.
普觉镇中学因为有足够的操场和活动场地，以及一些运动基础设施，成为本次除了捐赠外，主要的活动场所。该学校是一所农村初级中学，目前有 24 个班，1,507 个学生和 89 位教职工。
The teachers also informed us that most of the children here have parents working as migrant laborers elsewhere, and there are many divorced families. Furthermore, some children may not even know who their parents are. Studying may be their best option, but it is not the only path many take; some students won't even know how to write their own names by graduation. Therefore, the school's biggest challenge is not simply teaching diligently, but how to safely and healthily manage these students.
On this trip, Vans also selected several poverty-stricken families to visit and provide assistance to.
老师也告诉我们，这里的孩子大部分家长都在外地务工，还有很多离异家庭，更有一部分孩子可能都不知道父母是谁……读书或许是他们最好的选择，但不是很多人走的唯一的路，有的同学到毕业，也不会写自己的名字。所以如何安全健康管理好这些学生并非努力教学，才是学校的最大难题。本次 Vans 也挑选了一些贫困家庭，进行了家访和帮助。
Poverty-Stricken Families Visit
The first student is a 13-year-old girl named Yang Xianzhi, who comes from a low-income family dependent on government subsidies.
Her mother has passed away, and her father suffers from chronic mental illness, making it unsuitable for him to live with the children. She and her younger brother are therefore living with their uncle, who covers all their expenses. However, the uncle lacks a stable income, has four of his own children in school, and is also responsible for caring for two elderly relatives.
第一位是 13 岁女同学杨仙芝，来自一个低保家庭。其母亲去世，父亲因常年患精神类疾病，不宜与小孩一起生活，所以她与弟弟一起寄居其大伯家，一切开支由大伯承担。但大伯没有稳定经济来源，且家有四个小孩读书，以及两个老人需要照顾。
Yang Xianzhi's family also includes her grandfather, who lives alone in their home.
The grandfather was very cheerful and told us all about his current situation. We learned that he had recently been discharged from the hospital after an illness and is currently unable to work. As a result, his home often lacks essential staples like rice, flour, grain, and cooking oil, as well as thick clothes and blankets for the winter.
Vans brought him the much-needed rice, oil, and meat during the visit, and a thick winter blanket will be sent to him later.
杨同学自己家中还有一位独居的爷爷。爷爷性格很开朗，一直和我们介绍自己的近况。我们也了解到，爷爷前不久刚刚生病才回家没多久。
他因病没有劳动力，家中常年缺少米面粮油，也缺少冬天厚衣服和被子。本次 Vans 也为他带去了所需的大米，油，肉，之后也有冬天用的厚被子寄去。
The second student is a 13-year-old boy named Huang Ruihao. His father has passed away, and his mother has remarried. His sole guardian is his grandmother, who is elderly.
The grandmother previously supported Huang Ruihao's education by washing dishes at restaurants in Tongren and Songtao, but her health has deteriorated in recent years, leaving her without a stable source of income. When we visited the home, the grandmother had just returned from a hospital stay, and there were several relatives visiting to help out.
第二位是 13 岁的男同学黄瑞毫，父亲去世，母亲改嫁，监护人只有其奶奶一人且年事已高。奶奶之前在铜仁和松桃饭店刷盘子供黄瑞毫读书，但近些年身体不好，不再有稳定的经济来源。我们去家访时，奶奶刚生病住院回来，所以家里还来了不少亲戚帮忙。
Huang Ruihao's family also lacks essential staples like rice, flour, grain, and cooking oil, so Vans provided them with those items as well. The family was extremely generous and even picked fresh pomelos from their backyard for us to eat.
Both students visited live on the mountain, far from the school, which is common for students in this mountainous region. Therefore, all the students are boarders and only return home every three weeks.
黄同学家庭同样缺少米面粮油，所以 Vans 也同样带去了这些东西。家里人更是非常慷慨的摘下后院自家中的柚子给我们吃。两位受家访的同学都住在离学校很远的山上，这也是大山里学生的普遍情况。所以学生们都会住校，每三周才回一次家。
Because of this, Pu Jue Town Middle School and a telecommunications company custom-designed special small mobile phones for the students. These phones are restricted to calling only, can store five numbers, and are equipped with an emergency communication button.
因此普觉镇中学和通讯公司，为同学们定制了专门的小手机。手机只能打电话，可以存五个号码，还设置了紧急通讯按钮。
Donation Ceremony
The day of the event also coincided with the school's Sports Day opening ceremony. After Vans and the students worked together to move the shoes by class onto the playground, they stayed to watch the opening ceremony of the Sports Day.
活动当天也赶上学校运动会开幕，Vans 和同学们一起把鞋子按班级搬运的操场上后，还观看了一场运动会开幕式。
Skate School
The skate experience session were taught by several Vans China riders, including Shu Tiao (薯条), Chen Yu, and Xiao Ji (小鸡).
本次滑板课程由 Vans 几位滑手薯条，陈宇和小鸡担任。
In the afternoon, even the teachers couldn't resist trying out skateboarding for themselves.
下午老师们也忍不住来体验一把滑板。
Every student who participated in the skateboarding experience had a chance to win a small chalkboard. Meanwhile, those who participated in the dart-throwing activity could win Vans stickers, which directly sparked the students' artistic creativity.
每个参加滑板体验的同学，都有机会获得一块小黑板。而在射飞镖体验中，则可以获得 Vans 贴纸，于是很多同学的艺术细胞直接被激发了。
As evening approached and the students learned we would be leaving the next day, they all rushed over with the small chalkboards, Polaroids, and notebooks they had collected, asking every person for signatures or messages of good luck.
临近傍晚要走的时候，同学们得知我们第二天就要离开，纷纷拿着收获的小黑板，拍立得，自己准备的小本子等等，找到每一个人签名，或留下祝福语。
Art Workshop 艺术体验课
Vans DIY Workshop
Shady spontaneously added a Skate Shoe DIY Workshop, which was immediately and wildly popular, especially among the female students.
Shady 临时增加了一堂滑板鞋 DIY 课程，一推出就受到女同学们的火热追捧。
Vans Art Wall
The artist, Teacher Shaozi from Beijing, spent two days with the students creating a wall mural that will remain permanently on the campus.
本次来自北京的艺术家勺子老师，用了两天时间和同学们一起创作了永远留在校园的墙画。
This mural depicts a "Dream-Chasing Picture" for the children. The arrow represents active striving and aspiration, the paper airplane represents moving toward a goal, the kayak embodies teamwork and cooperation, the telescope signifies exploration and a heart full of curiosity, the wings represent soaring high and taking flight, and the heart represents friendship and love.
这幅画描绘了一个孩子们的“逐梦图”。箭头代表积极向上，纸飞机代表向着目标前进，皮划艇寓意团结协作，望远镜是探索好奇之心，翅膀是展翅翱翔，爱心是友爱。
Although each charity trip only lasts for one day, Vans spends a long time preparing, from selecting and coordinating with the schools to preparing all the donations. Perhaps a single pair of shoes, a warm jacket, and all the supplies they leave behind are far from enough for these students. However, we believe that through the interactions with the students, the spirit of skateboarding, art, sincerity, and kindness can remain with them.
虽然每次的公益行活动只有一天，但在前期 Vans 从选择学校，对接，到准备等等，都会准备很久。或许一双鞋子，一件厚衣服，和留下的种种东西对他们远不足够。但相信在和同学们的相处之中，这些滑板艺术精神，真诚和善良能一直留住。
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