Captivating’s 5th Annual Charity Auction sets new records!!!

NOTE:  Scroll to the bottom of this post see the Photo Gallery

1.26 million RMB raised (up 15% on last year).

To our wonderful Shenzhen community,

“Oh I was searching for a song to sing
I searched for a leader
But the leader was me
We were looking for the world to change
We can be heroes”

What an amazing night.  Once again, we at Captivating and the auction committee have been blown away by the incredible generosity of this Shenzhen community and are again in awe of everyone’s support and contributions.  Gifts, corporate sponsorships, generous bidding, time and energy combined have been simply incredible and have resulted in an amazing and record breaking 5^th Annual Captivating Charity auction.  On behalf of everyone involved with Captivating International, our partners and all the children and families we are helping to move forward into a better life, it’s my great honor to say “thank you Shenzhen”.

The Captivating planning committee of 11 incredible women, co-chaired by Lynn Velez and Julie Ponthier have once again done an outstanding job creating what is truly a world-class charity fund-raising event.  Each year this event just gets better and better.  This success would simply not have been possible if it weren’t for people like Lynn and Julie; their committee and our Shenzhen community.  We were searching for heroes and the heroes were you….

The 31 girls present at the auction from the Seng Girls Home were amazing.  It’s been said that a village raises a child.  This is so true for Captivating International.  And it is the Shenzhen community that is making this possible as well as our partner LOVEQTRA.   Together all of us are playing our part to raise the 135 fine young ladies of the Seng Girls Home.  Following the beautiful opening song by Melody and Saige, and a jaw dropping welcome speech by Pema Lhamo demonstrating such wonderful English and confidence, the Seng Girls gave a spirited first “Horse Dance” which was simply amazing.  These three elements combined set the scene for a wonderful evening.  Fittingly, the evening ended with all of the girls joining many of you on the stage dancing to “Locomotion”, memories for Julie and I that will last more than a lifetime.   And, let’s not forget our “porky pigs” – how gratifying it will be to get feedback from SHEM Women’s group on the reaction from the 74 village families when they get their healthy young sows in the coming months.  Finally, the dance performance by Adrian Blackstock and students from QSI, SIS and the Seng Girls home was more than just incredible – it showed first-hand the value of unity, togetherness, and how we can ALL be hero’s and make a change in this world.  To see pictures of the Seng Girls with arms around students from these two schools confirms for us the value of this work.  Thank you to everyone who played a key role in the night and all the hours of planning and preparation leading up to it by over 100 volunteers.  To everyone, our most humble appreciation for your support.

Year after year – we raise the bar to try and raise more funds.  More funds opens the door to more projects.  In line with our mission we always aim to include some kind of sustainable solution so that a village, family, or child can soar on their own one day.  At time of writing, 1,260,000 RMB was raised on Saturday evening.  This number will be confirmed in more detail in a further communication to auction attendees.  This means 2014 will be another year of expansion for us.  Shenzhen, we are thrilled.

In the coming days, we will be loading up many photo memories onto the website and sending out email links to them all.  If you sponsored a child, you will shortly receive your “Welcome to the Sponsorship Family” welcome pack including your child’s story from our office and instructions on how it all works.  Also, keep your eyes open for regular blog and project updates on this and our other projects at www.captivating.org simply by selecting the blog button.

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