APS Donation Report – Christmas BISzaar 2016

As this year comes to an end, we look back at what a fantastic year it has been for Community Service at APS.

With many community projects and ECAs on offer, more and more students are choosing to support the community. It is not only the students that support our partners by giving their time and energy, our parent community work extremely hard is providing charitable support. The Christmas BISzaar is the main fundraiser of the year and a way for the school community to support all of the BIS community partners. In Term 2 2017, the Community Department received a very generous donation by the PTG. Here is what was bought with that money:

Thuy’s Dreams – Children’s Cancer Wards

60,000,000 VND was given directly to the hospital to support 6 children with their cancer treatment. Ella Martin (PTG) visited Binh Thanh along with students from the Cancer Ward to meet with some of the children. We hope that this donation will support them on their road to recovery. 

Binh Trieu School

Binh Trieu are currently in the process of building a new school for the hundreds of students that attend each day, as well as a new shelter for the 30 children that live their permanently. 10,000,000 VND has gone towards buying the cement and central structures for the building and we look forward to seeing their new school soon!

Mai Am Boys Shelter

The boys at Mai Am Shelter were in need of new lockers. 10,000,000VND along with 4,000,000VND from the APS International Day Auction went towards fulfilling this wish – they now have enough space to store their belongings!

Thien Phuoc Foster Home for Disabled Children - Physiotherapy Bike

Thien Phuoc is BIS’s longest partnership, from weekly clubs and play dates to Christmas parties, we always try to support them as much as we can. Many of the children at Thien Phuoc Foster Home have physical as well as mental disabilities. A few years ago they were given a physiotherapy bike to support with daily exercises for the children. The number of children at Thien Phuoc has now risen to over 60 and when asked for their wish list, Sister Kim said they were in need of another bike.

As this was a large amount of money, the community department looked for support from all campuses and thankfully, with the kind support of APP, APS and TX PTGs, we have been able to buy the bike that will be delivered to Thien Phuoc soon. With your support at the Christmas BISzaar, the PTG were able to donate 20,000,000VND towards this cause.

Mai Tam House of Hope

Mai Tam House of Hope is a home for children who have HIV/AIDS. Our Year 10 students provide them with parties throughout the year, as well as weekly visits from our students at Mai Tam club.

Father Joseph informed us that the children at Mai Tam needed new blankets as well as school books for their next academic year. The PTG donated an amazing 22,600,000VND to support all the children from Mai Tam with this request. 

Nhat Hong Centre

8,000,000VND contributed towards buying Nhat Hong Centre for the Visually Impaired new canes for all of the students. The remaining money has gone towards resources for the centre. 

Thao Dien Disabled School

The headmistress at Thao Dien Disabled School is keen to introduce more vocational courses for the students. A few years ago BIS HCMC supported with buying a Jet wash for the children to learn skills that can support them with jobs in the future. The school recognised that the students learn best through vocational training so will be starting three new courses next year: cooking, laundry and jewellery/gift making.

To support the school in a long term and sustainable way, the PTG have donated 16,684,000VND towards equipment for the cooking lessons.  To develop the project further we will be looking at linking this cooking lesson with our Year 8 Community Project next year. 

Helmets for Kids

The PTG have donated 6,000,000VND towards the Helmets for Kids Year 9 Project.  These helmets will be given to children from local schools who take part in the BIS HCMC student helmet fair next year.

Ky Quang Pagoda

Ky Quang pagoda looks after hundreds of children who are from all different circumstances. Many of the children are without shoes so the PTG donated 5,000,000VND towards sandals for the children at the pagoda. The remaining money has been spent on 6 new doors for the children’s bathrooms. 

Overview

Thank you to everyone who contributed towards making the Christmas BISzaar so successful – you have really made a difference to our community partners. A special thank you to the PTG for their continued support!

Clover Sharman, Community Service Projects Manager