SSIS Week of Heartbeat

     To celebrate the International Women's Day on March 8th, my friend Michelle and I have decided to organize an  SSIS school event called "The Week of Heartbeat". The event is a week long (Monday March 4th - Friday March 8th) and the purpose of this event is not only to raise awareness of heart diseases but also to promote the strong bond of companionship within the student body. The profits raised during this week is also dedicated to Heartbeat Vietnam Organization - a nursery for kids with heart diseases, and Long Hoa Boys Orphanage in Vietnam.

     The brief schedule of the event is as follows:

• MONDAY "MONDAY VIBE": We organized a Monday Vibe (an SSIS musical event that takes place every Monday of the week, where students perform at the school entrance for charity), and sang songs about the heart and companionship.
• TUESDAY "TOY STORY": We officially jumpstarted the Toys and Crayons Drive. We asked teachers and students to donate toys and/or crayons for the kids the in mentioned organization. The crayons are to aid an SSIS student-led Arts Lessons for the boys in Long Hoa Orphanage. 
• WEDNESDAY "WEAR YOUR HEART ON YOUR SLEEVE": Students were given heart-shaped stickers to stick on their shirt sleeves. This is to raise awareness on the importance of the heart, emotionally and physically. Also on that day, posters about different heart diseases was posted on bulletin boards and the library in order to further reinforce the incentive to protect our hearts. 
• THURSDAY "GIFTS SALES": We set up our booth, For The Ladies, at lunch in the school kiosk. The products included various bracelets, rings, earrings, teddy bears, etc.
• FRIDAY "BAKE SALES": Friday is the actual International Women’s day. We sold the best homemade French brownies from our good friend Cecile on this day for the same purpose of charity.

The event's outcome was announced on SSIS e-news on the next Monday morning:

"From Heartbeat Vietnam:

      Hello everyone, we hope you enjoyed the "Week of Heartbeat"! Thanks to all of you, we've been able to donate 1,340,000 VND (64.32 USD) and a tons of toys & crayons to the kids from Heartbeat Vietnam and Long Hoa Boys Orphanage. In short, YOU ROCK!

¡Spread the love!"

     All in all, the event was a success. From this event, I've learnt more on how to be a better leader. Albeit ran into many obstacles along the way with the proposal and group planning, I've gained valuable experience that would definitely be of great use in my future events.

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