Noteworthy Benefit Concert: Follow Up Note

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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.  

​Author

Emily Kam