Home » Supplement » Education
YCIS bids farewell to founder of kids’ charity
Print Edition
If Christine Cullen had not left Shanghai, she might never have known that her 10 years of children’s medical charity work had won the hearts of so many people. Among them: students and staff from Yew Chung International School of Shanghai’s Century Park campus who held a special farewell to honor her work before her departure.
Cullen is founder of the “Heart to Heart” charity project, which has raised money for more than 640 Chinese children across the country with heart problems whose families could not afford heart surgery. Her goodwill was echoed by many students and staff members at YCIS, which is a long-term partner in the project.
Since 2009, 53 Chinese children have received heart surgery with the help of donations from YCIS. At the farewell assembly, students saw projected on a screen the faces of those children, from seven provinces in China, including Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces and the Tibet Autonomous Region.
“Christine’s idea started very small,” said Moira Macpherson, a Parent Relations Officer with YCIS.
“It’s just incredible that from a tiny thought, she saw a need and was able to gather people to help,” she said. “I’ve never seen a person with so much drive, passion and compassion for the kids.”
Cullen lived in Shanghai for 17 years. About 10 years ago, by happenstance, someone she knew was trying to help children at the Shanghai Chest Hospital on Huaihai Road W, and that led to her inspiration for “Heart to Heart.”
“They told me the children there stayed in bed all day with nothing to do. No television. No toys,” Cullen said. “They suggested that maybe I could go there with some friends. The visit didn’t begin as fundraising but as a few people who were trying to make children happy.”
Wearing a big necklace with the carved Chinese characters “Heart to Heart,” Cullen said she was a lady in red because she loved the Chinese shade of red and Chinese children so much.
Cullen said she started the project because the children and their families were in need. “They are the most lovely and dignified people that you could ever wish to meet. They didn’t ask for anything else but they give me back so much love,” Cullen said in an interview with Shanghai Daily.
To benefit more children who needed heart surgery, Cullen introduced her charity project to expat communities and international schools in Shanghai. YCIS was one of them.
In March, YCIS raised more than 400,000 yuan (US$65,200) at a gala dinner for 17 children. “We held a gala dinner where lots of prizes, such as jewelry, holidays, hotel stays, massages and paintings donated by student families, companies and sponsors, were auctioned,” said Annabel Glover with the YCIS Parent Organization.
Glover said students of YCIS also went to hospitals to meet the children they had helped.
Karyn Chan, a Year 11 student, said she felt deeply touched when she met the kids and parents.
“By talking to them, I got to know how long their journey was when they went from their home to the hospital. That explains why we are doing this to help them,” Chan said.
Cullen thanked all the students for their recognition of her work.
“Fortunately, I had time. Fortunately, I wasn’t working. Fortunately, I had a husband who literally did everything to help me and sacrificed every weekend,” she said. “But one person cannot make the difference, definitely. Thank you all for caring about the children from Heart to Heart.”
Cullen left for the United Kingdom, where she and her husband will spend a year before returning to Australia.
“I’m leaving with a hole in my heart, but knowing that nevertheless I’ve fixed many holes in people’s hearts,” she said.
“These children have been a huge part of our lives. Many of them called me mom. I’ll take away all the memories,” Cullen said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
