Nanjing charity, Hopeful Hearts, has received a shot in the arm to the tune of almost half a million renminbi, thanks to the generosity of attendees to the British Ball which brought a touch of post-COVID glamour to the local international community.
Taking place on the evening of Saturday 15 May in The Ritz Carlton, Nanjing, the British Ball was the first of its kind to be held in Nanjing. Themed around the James Bond movie, “Casino Royale”, it was the bit of Las Vegas in town for the evening that was key to the phenomenal amount raised.
When the green baize tables were put away and everything was tallied up, the 250 guests in attendance had gambled their way toward raising a grand total of precisely ¥420,000 for Hopeful Hearts.
The Nanjing-based charity assists with funding life-saving operations for local children, often abandoned because of their condition, or because they come from a farming community and/or low-income families. Fully 96 percent of all money raised goes directly to paying for heart operations. Two more Hopeful Hearts’ teams operate in Guangzhou and Chengdu.
On the subject of the Ball’s fundraising, Ellen Wieck-Mesarosch, Chair Person of Hopeful Hearts spoke with The Nanjinger. “The team and I were completely over the moon! [Now] we can support many more children, especially those with quite complicated and thus more cost-intensive surgery needs. That‘s just wonderful!”, she said.
“The surgery costs depend on the child’s specific condition, but surgeries of congenital cardiac malformations can be twice as cost intense as surgeries of, for example a VSD (ventricular septal defect) and can easily reach six digit numbers.”
The British Ball was the brainchild of Erinda Demeti, Director of Admissions & Marketing at The British School of Nanjing.
Demeti previously lived in Beijing almost 17 years where the city’s British Ball was the highlight of expat social life. “Sadly, I didn’t find any similar events in Nanjing. I waited and waited, longing for a similar Ball, until I understood waiting is not the solution, so I decided I will organise one myself”, she told The Nanjinger.
“As a mother, I understand how sad and hard must be for a parent of a sick child not being able to pay off the child’s medical bills. … However during COVID times, it has been impossible to organise any big social and fundraising events, but now we are so lucky to have almost a full normal life here in Nanjing, so I thought a big charity event will not only help raise funds for Hopeful Hearts, but also bring some fun and entertainment to our city.”
Wieck-Mesarosch wishes to thank the Ball’s whole team for their passion, energy and dedication to making it such a successful charity event. Hopeful Hearts greatly appreciates the time, talent and donations that help save the lives of more children. For more information on how to make a difference, visit the Hopeful hearts website; hopefulheartsnj.org.
