Heart to Heart and our School Community

Last year, the PET donated RMB 90,000 to Heart to Heart, and RMB 150,000 the previous year. In the last two years, PET’s fundraising activities were led by the outstanding guidance and supervision of Sarah Gilsenan; the former Head of PET and a parent at our school - her selfless actions and motivation are a lesson to all of us. Iris Kastoriano, an active member of the PET, wanted to share this statement;

‘This is my ninth year in Shanghai, and BISS is the fourth international school my children have attended. An organisation such as PET, led by parents only for the benefit of the school community and fundraising, did not exist in any other international school my children attended in the city. It is unique and rare. Hopefully, similar activities will be formed around the city as time goes by, and Heart to Heart will be sponsored from other groups such as PET BISS.’

Due to COVID-19, it has not been possible to have our usual fundraising events in school, and yet, the PET recently made the decision to donate RMB 20,000 from their existing funds to the charity. The team, all BISS parent volunteers, understands that Heart  to Heart desperately needs this money to continue its very valuable operation. 100% of donations go to the children’s surgeries – Heart to Heart doesn’t take anything for salaries, reimbursements or expenses. All of their staff volunteer their time and expertise, and the charity has an RMB 0 operating budget. The donation is ‘visible’ – the PET will, in time, have the chance to meet the children and families who they work hard to support.

This valuable donation made by the PET will now go towards sponsoring a 9-month old boy in Guizhou Province. He was taken to a maternal and child healthcare hospital, where the doctor found that he had complex congenital heart disease - the child's lips were purple and his immunity was poor. The doctor said that he required surgery, but there was no possible way the family of five could afford it. His mother takes care of the children at home, whilst his father works on construction sites earning around RMB 30,000 a year. Currently, the family owes RMB 50,000 and they couldn't borrow enough money for the surgery that their little boy so desperately needed. The PET’s donation has now made the surgery possible and it means so much to the family that the school community has helped them get the help that was so badly needed.

As the BISS community, we should be immensely proud of the support we have given to Heart 2 Heart over the years. We have worked together to save the lives of many children who, without those donations, would have faced an uncertain future. Thank you to the Parent Events Team who work tirelessly to support our community and in turn, commit to fundraising for these invaluable charities.

About Heart to Heart

Heart to Heart is a special fund of Ren De Foundation. We are a Shanghai based charity which provides corrective surgery for Chinese children from all over China with congenital heart disease (CHD) whose parents are unable to afford the surgery. To date H2H has sponsored over 1,648 children for heart surgery. The surgeries not only saved their lives, but transformed the lives of their families.Heart to Heart is proud of the fact that we are and always have been a 100% volunteer organization. We have no paid employees. We also have a $0 operating budget which means that 100% of donations are spent for surgeries. Sponsors are given documentation on where their donations were spent and can also visit the children while the children are in the hospital for their surgery.

Sponsoring a child is a truly moving experience.

上海⼼连⼼是仁德基⾦会设⽴的专项基⾦，致⼒于资助中国贫困家庭的先天性⼼脏病患⼉进⾏⼿术治疗。截⾄⽬前，上海⼼连⼼已帮助1,648名患⼉筹集善款完成了治疗。这些⼿术不仅挽救了⼀条条幼⼩的⽣命，更是改变了⼀个个家庭的命运。⾃成⽴以来，上海⼼连 ⼼始终坚持100%由志愿者管理运营，⽆任何雇员。零成本的运营意味着每⼀笔捐赠都 100%⽤于资助⼿术费⽤。我们为捐款⼈提供所捐款项的⽀出明细，并提供前往医院看望 患⼉的所需协助。每⼀个为这些孩⼦付出的善举都让我们备受感动。