Seeds of Hope Fundraising Concert makes a splash

The annual Seeds of Hope Fundraising Concert was a great success in Beijing earlier this month. A full audience of 800 people that included parents, students, teachers and others from the Beijing community enjoyed a three-part concert on Sunday March 18.

Over 350 performers were on stage to participate in a benefit concert that supported educa¬tion for children in rural China. The Seeds of Hope Fundraising Concert was held at the China Conservatory of Music and had attendees from all over China. It involved students from the Yew Chung International School (YCIS) of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing and Qingdao.

The event showcased a range of student talents. Concert highlights for audience members included the International Orchestra of YCIS and Yew Wah (YW), the YCIS Beijing Jazz Band and Dancers and YCIS Hong Kong 8-year-old student pianist Johnson Li, a Lang Lang Music Scholarship recipient.

Seeds of Hope came into being as a result of the tragic Sichuan earthquake in 2008 and was formed by YCIS and YW. Together they raised an impressive sum of 1,500,000 yuan ($238,632) to rebuild the Sichuan Minzhu Primary School. After that they expanded support by forming the Seeds of Hope charity.

The Seeds of Hope Fundraising Concert is an annual event. Since January 2011 Seeds of Hope has raised over 500,245 yuan and recently aided in establishing the Qufu Yew Chung Yew Wah Hope Primary School in Shangdong Province. Seeds of Hope continues to bring education to children in rural China.

YCIS Beijing has over 850 students from 45 different nations. The school is part of the Yew Chung International Foundation with 5,500 stu¬dents across campuses in Hong Kong, Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai and Qingdao, alongside Silicon Valley in the US.

The outpouring of support for the YCIS Seeds of Hope charity is a testament to both the success of the charity and the schools' mission of "aligning with love and charity."

This year, all the donations will go towards supporting education in Wan'an town, which is located in Li county of Baoding city in Hebei Province. On top of those raised on the night, donations will be accepted throughout the year to continue promoting awareness and support of education of children in rural China.

For more information, please visit www.ycis-schools.com.