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Join us December 15 for the fourth annual Have a Heart Fundraiser!

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We cordially invite any and all members of the Kunming community to attend our fourth annual Have a Heart Fundraiser this Saturday at DT Bar. We are raising money to support Yunnan kids who desperately need heart surgeries, and have organized a day and night of music, fun, games, drinks, giveaways and food. So come out and join us for the fourth straight year as we look to lend a hand to those in need.

A little background

Roughly one in one hundred children around the world are born with congenital heart defects. These range from minor to life-threatening. In rural places around the world with little or no access to adequate healthcare, such cases can prove fatal at an early age. This reality is no less true in Yunnan's far-flung places, where children are sometimes properly diagnosed but still have no recourse because surgery is a financial impossibility for their families.

To that end, we are raising money for Yunnan children who desperately need life-saving surgeries. They live in rural hamlets and big cities alike, but have one thing in common: their families cannot afford the necessary operations. To mitigate some of the most dire cases, not-for-profit Village Progress organized the first heart health fundraiser four years ago. It has grown every year since. All told, with online donations, a charity walk from Dali to Lijiang and events like the one this Saturday, we've raised in excess of 400,000 yuan (US$58,000) in Yunnan.

This time, the benefit begins at 4pm and will feature a dazzling array of raffle prizes, performances by eight bands and DJs, food on offer from some of the city's most talented chefs, craft beer and handmade goods. Everyone performing, selling food, pouring drinks and coordinating activities on Saturday is donating their time and profits to the cause, and we want to thank them all in advance for what will be a wonderful day. As always, the fundraisers would not be possible without organizers, Colin, Juliette, Matu and Sarah.

A door charge of 40 yuan per person includes one raffle ticket to the prize giveaway. Additional individual raffle tickets will be on sale during the event for the same price or at a bulk discounted rate of four tickets for 100 yuan. Advance tickets are currently available at Salvador's Coffee House. We highly recommend buying in bulk, not only as a way to raise more money, but also to increase the chance of winning one of the great prizes available at the day-long raffle.

Prizes and donations

The following businesses and organizations have all graciously donated prizes worth well in excess of 20,000 yuan for the raffle and auction — À Table, As You Like, BANFF Mountain Film Festival, Barfly, Brooklyn, Dali Bar, Dangsters Dance Studio, Gallery Art Hub, GoKunming, Healing Light Yoga, Kunming Flying Tigers Rugby Club, Kunming Yu-Cong Enterprise Management, Moon and Chalice Boutique Hotel, Now Climbing, O'Reilly's Irish Pubs, Riccardo Marzi Home Decor, Salvador's Coffee House, Slice of Heaven, Sofitel Kunming, Spring City Yoga Collective, Turtle and VIDA.

Efforts like our event on Saturday, and those of many others, have collectively funded more than 500 surgeries over the past ten years, 30 of them for children who otherwise would not have survived. A typical surgery — which is generally too complicated to properly perform in Yunnan hospitals — costs between 60,000 and 100,000 yuan (US$9,000-15,000). Come out for a magnificent afternoon and support this worthy cause.

Image credit: Kris Ariel
Image credit: Kris Ariel

Live music, food, drinks and handicrafts

We'll have an eclectic group of live bands throughout the fundraiser, some inside on the big stage and others outdoors on the city's sunniest patio. Local gourmands will also be serving up some fantastic vittles. The entire charity event is organized in cooperation with China California Heart Watch.

Bands

Studducks (classic rock)
Large Forehead (ska)
Hardcore Softporn (rockabilly)
Geyijun (indie rock)
Braden (acoustic rock)
Yankadi (West African drums)
Raving Vendor (indie rock)
DJ Xiao Kris (funk/soul)

Eats and treats

American-style cheeseburgers, cole slaw and bottled chipotle sauce by Sarah
Tacos for carnivores and vegetarians by Salvador's Coffee House
Pasta salad by Cantina • Wine and Chat
Craft beer by Humdinger
Craft beer by Valhalla Craft Brewery
Libations of all sorts by DT Bar

Handicrafts

Corlie's handmade leather and embroidered bags and trinkets

If you would like to donate a raffle prize or otherwise get involved, please contact us through the GoKunming Contact Form. For those who can't make it but would like to donate, we also have a secure online way to contribute through our GoFundMe page. Also, to help spread the word, please share this article, the GoKunming event page and the online donations link on WeChat, Facebook or wherever else you may have a social media outlet. Come out this Saturday for a day and night of good food, fantastic live music, prizes and, most importantly, a terrific cause! Thanks, Kunming!

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Comments

Serious needs need serious initiatives, this is one. Always a great afternoon every year, and its not just blowing money around. Hope to see everyone there and meet those involved, which can include yourself.

Afternoon and evening, come late if necessary, leave when and if necessary and possible.

Kid friendly.

Is Dr. Detrano still associated with this excellent program?

@ Geezer, yes he is and he will be there tomorrow too

Bob Detrano is the heart and soul of the effort - the rest of us are just doing what we can so that he can do what he knows how to do and is committed to doing.

Hey all, I'm very sorry to have forgotten to include Valhalla Craft Beer's generous donation of a keg of their beer that will also be poured at the event tomorrow with all proceeds going to the fundraising effort. Thank you, Valhalla, and thank you for all the efforts and donations from all these great businesses in Kunming like Valhalla.

Thanks Colin. Valhalla has been added to the article.

For charity events, it may be important to make visible on GoK names of top donors afterwards. Beforehand, tell personal biographical stories of the children who were saved last year:

"Little Shi is an 8-month old baby boy, with several holes between the left and right sides of his heart. He lives in Luxi county. His parents are poor farmers. This baby weighed only 5 kilograms and was not growing. His parents are farmers, earning about $3000 per year. China Cal doctors diagnosed his condition and its partners supported his surgery at West China Hospital and he was recently discharged home and is recovering."

Picture of Little Shi:

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"Little Guo is a 5 years old girl from Meng La County in Xi Shuang Ban Na prefecture. Her family are farmers earning less than $1000 per year. China Cal doctors diagnosed her with an atrial septal defect. She underwent successful surgery at Kunming Fu Wai Hospital in September. She is home with her family."

Picture of Little Guo:

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"Little Chang is a 6 year old boy from Meng Hai county in Xi Shuang Ban Na prefecture. His family are poor minority farmers earning about $1500 per year from their farm. China Cal doctors diagnosed her with two holes his heart. He underwent successful surgery supported by China Cal foundation partners at Yunnan Province Fu Wai hospital. He will go home soon."

Picture of Little Chang:

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"Little Li. Is a one year old boy with a patent ductus, an abnormal tube that persisted after he was born and was causing him to suffer from heart failure with breathing difficulty and frequent sweating. His parents are poor farmers earning about $1500 per year from Ning Er county in Pu Er Prefecture. Little Li was diagnosed by China Cal doctors and underwent surgery at Yunnan Fu Wai hospital in early October. He is home with his family and doing well."

Picture of Little Li:

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source: www.ccheartwatch.org/[...]

Hey all. Big thanks to everyone who showed up last night. It was an amazing event. Thanks also to Juliette and Matu at DT Bar who made it all possible. Thanks to Dr. Detrano for being the one out there on the ground saving lives. Thanks to all the bands last night and Jeff for helping emcee.

Though we didn't have as many big donors as last year, the event itself broke all previous records. Thanks to all the vendors who raised about 13,000. Thanks to all the tickets sales volunteers who brought close to 18,000. Thanks to the super generous people who won their auctions and raised another 7,600 and to all the local businesses who donated all the awesome prizes. And to all the donors who gave cash donations nearing 15,000. In all we've raised over 53,000 so far but there are still donations coming in. If you would like to contribute online follow this link, or if the link doesn't show up you can find it in the story above...

www.gofundme.com/[...]

Hey everyone, we were trying to organize another fundraiser this year for December 8th, but it has now been cancelled. We will try to organize another one after the holidays. Cheers

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