"✨ Watch the magic unfold! ✨ This Fall, the kids at Kidspire turning coding into a fun and tangible experience. With an amazing tools: micro:bit along with MakeCode, these kids were able to bring their creations to life! 💡 By coding instructions for lights, sensors, simple circuits, and more, they're not just learning; they're building! It's incredible to see their imaginations take flight. 🚀 #Kidspire #CodingForKids #microbit #MakeCode #STEMeducation" Noteworthy Benefit Concert: Follow Up Note8/6/2017 Another day, another email or two or twenty. To be sure, it was an elephant-load of promoting, organizing, rehearsing, reminding, printing, and of course, emailing. But for children suffering from congenital heart disease in rural China, I gladly pressed on.
I’ve been a TFish intern for four years now. Over the years I have followed the stories of many of the Little Red Scarf children, like Hongyan, Jing Chuan, and Ting Ting. My sister put on a benefit concert for LRS a few years ago, and ever since I have been waiting to do the same, but with my own improved twist on it. The program would not be limited to classical music—instead, a mix of everything, from Bach to Bruno Mars to Simon and Garfunkel. And not just the typical piano and violin performances—we would have quartets, duos, piano, violin, viola, cello, guitar, ukulele, singing, and even beatboxing. And as if that wouldn’t be enticing enough, free bubble tea and giveaway prizes to boot. I wanted the audience to have as much as fun as the performers. The ideas and goals were set in motion, but there was so much more to prepare. I started planning two months before the actual concert, garnering support from the board members of TFish, putting together the program, and finding community sponsors. I couldn’t do it alone, of course, being only a lowly high school student with homework and APs to worry about. Mom helped immensely, driving me to all my destinations, and even my siblings helped by asking a few businesses for their support. The TFish board lent me Mr. Chan to speak at the fundraiser and Susanna volunteered to oversee the donation table. Foothill Covenant Church graciously allowed me to host the fundraiser in their sanctuary. Actually, when the concert was only a week away, I wasn’t sure if anyone would even show up! But to my surprise (and relief), over 90 people attended, and a friend even drove all the way from Dublin, CA. And in the midst of all the preparation, it was important to remember who I was really sending scores of emails for—the children in China. A benefit concert would be the perfect way to not only provide heart surgeries for them, but also to raise awareness of their needs among my friends and family. My musically-talented friends from orchestra, the SF Conservatory of Music, and my homeschool world all came together to perform. I have grown through the preparation of Noteworthy, my musical fundraiser. But even more important to me was the fact that five more children in China could receive new hearts, new life, and new hope! Despite the grueling work that went on behind the scenes, I would go through the entire process again, just for them. From my heart to theirs. Little Red Scarf is in Lanzhou, Gansu province and provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle. September 4, 2016: The Long Awaited Phone CallFinally, Xiejuan's father received the long awaited phone call from Dr. Liu, who invited Xiejuan to check in to the hospital the next day, because the specialist was on the way for her operation. It was arranged to have a specialist from Beijing to perform the surgery, due to Xiejuan's complicated heart condition. Her father felt great about the news; but on the other hand, he was nervous for the inevitable risks. September 5, 2016: Xiejuan Warmly Welcomes LRSWe went to meet Xiejuan early in the day. "Xiao Hong Jin (Little Red Scalf)!" she yelled out, even before we arrived at the door. Obviously, our communication efforts paid off. She accepted us, and behaved upbeat. September 11, 2016: Operation DayThe operation lasted eight hours. Xiejuan underwent a long operation, and her father endured tortuous waiting. We were all nervous until her father delivered the good news later in the day. The operation was successful, and she was transferred to the ICU for monitoring.
Little Red Scarf is in Lanzhou, Gansu province and provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle. Xiao Hong is a girl of Yi ethnic minority. She comes from Honghe Prefecture of Yunnan province and she is 5. There are 5 in the family. Their main income of about 10,000RMB each year comes from plantations. Xiao Hong’s parents said she had been weak since she was a little child. She was diagnosed pulmonary stenosis when she attended kindergarten. The doctor said she needed to take operation which costed a few thousand hundreds of Yuan. They could not afford the operation treatment. They applied for the support. The first time I saw Xiao Hong was in hospital. Her parents kept saying thank you and she seemed scary. They could not believe they had been supported. I told them it was true and introduced the project. I also introduced myself to them and the jobs I am responsible for. They seemed relaxing and talked about them and the situation of the family. The child was looking at me with big eyes and kept silent.
|
Top PostsPHOTOS & VIDEOSIN THE NEWSCategories
All
Archives
September 2024
|