Before adjourning for the summer holiday, students, teachers, and parents from Century Park Campus assembled to honour Ms Christine Cullen, founder of the charity Heart to Heart Shanghai, who is preparing to depart from the city after many years.

Pictures and videos of happy children who received YCIS-sponsored, Heart to Heart-supported surgeries were displayed during the ceremony, recapping a wonderful partnership between YCIS and the charity organisation that began in 2009. During this time, the charitable efforts of the entire YCIS community have enabled life-changing heart surgeries for 53 children. The tremendous impact that YCIS students have had over the years was fully internalised when 53 students in the audience stood up to display photos of the children whose lives have been directly affected by YCIS student and family donations.

The ceremony also served to inspire students, highlighting Ms Cullen as a role model who saw a need and founded an organisation to help others. Throughout 2013, YCIS students were engaged in a number of charitable projects, donating time, money, energy, and care packages to many worthy causes.

YCIS Shanghai has supported Heart to Heart in many ways over the years, including a recent Charity Gala held by the Parent Organisation Pudong that raised over RMB 400,000 yuan for the charity. During the farewell ceremony, Ms Annabelle Glover, an YCIS parent, spoke about the history of this school’s partnership with Heart to Heart, on behalf of the YCIS Parent Organisation.

The event was capped off by a presentation of roses from the Student Council to Ms Cullen. Appropriately, the rose bouquet contained 53roses, one to honour each child whose surgery was sponsored by YCIS.