Thank you for making the 9th Annual CAPTIVATING Charity Auction a total SUCCESS!

Saturday, October 14 once again saw guests fill the grand ballroom of the Futian Shangri-la, Shenzhen China in support of the Annual Captivating Charity Auction – an event run in partnership with the Shenzhen Charity Federation. The evening was amazing – possibly our best yet. The results were worth it. Through Captivating’s charity partners: The Shenzhen Charity Federation; SHAMTSE; and LOVEQTRA (The Seng Girls Home), funds raised from this year’s event will be used to impact the lives of up to 1,000 girls and many of their families in remote locations of Western China. With a focus on solutions such as greenhouses, animal husbandry, health education, vocational school scholarships, and programs helping girls get into their first genuine and safe job, Captivating and their partners will make dreams come true thanks to the generosity of donors and sponsors.

This event was made possible thanks to an amazing auction committee and a huge team of volunteers, lead by the amazing Dana Milne and a dedicated team of wonderful women, with tireless support from our Captivating staff. To all our corporate sponsors (whose logo’s you see below), as well as our Event Partners and Auction item donors – your financial support and generous donations of time and items are what make this event possible. To our partner schools and amazing Shenzhen community – your support again for another year motivates our teams to push onwards and upwards. And to our Auctioneer (Greg) and MC (Tim), thanks for keeping us entertained and engaged.

So, how did we go? Early indications suggest that our net revenue for the night after deducting event and venue expenses, was an amazing RMB1.25 million.

We are thrilled with this result. These funds will be used to specifically support the work of our registered partners in CHINA, with funds being allocated to approved projects through the Shenzhen Charity Federation.

Programs will start as early as next month with Women’s Health training in remote village communities. Please keep an eye out for updates on these projects and everyone is invited to visit our captivating.org website and review the projects and updates that interest you. Our Captivating WeChat page will feature our work in China specifically.

Thanks to this event and your generosity, we will see Greenhouses; Healthy Village Programs; Piglet businesses for single mothers; Vocational School Scholarships; and My First Job programs improve the lives of single moms, their children, and many girls who dream of getting back to school. You made that happen Shenzhen!  We’re so proud of you, and honored to have your support.

They say, it takes a village to raise a child and this is so true.  Our village of volunteers, donors, and supporters are helping to raise Captivating to its fullest potential.  We also want to give special thanks to our wonderful dancers on the night – girls from the Seng Girls Home – a wonderful testament to girls that are living out our theme for this year. “With brave wings, they’re flying”. We also want to specifically thank the wonderful performance and demonstration of unity from students from QSI, SIS, ISNS, Funful and SWIS international schools. Your performance was moving and inspirational.

Together, we will create so many more “With Brave Wings – She Flies” stories this year. On behalf of Captivating and the Shenzhen Charity Federation, thank you Shenzhen.