《声音》启明星专刊 VOICES for Daystar Academy VOICES Spring/Summer Edition 2019 | Page 13

SPOTLIGHT “I do what I do now because of my respect for life. It is always amazing and moving to see how strong a life can be. These children now have a chance because of what you and I are doing, together.” Lily Lu, Founder of Dew Drops Little Flowers T he “children” that Lily talks about, are the medically fragile orphans and children from disadvantaged families all over China. These children are completely vulnerable, need medical assistance and pre/post-operative care, and face impossible odds. As the founder of Dew Drops Little Flowers, Lily and her small team are dedicated in providing 24/7 intensive nursing care, medical treatment, and education for abandoned children. It’s Who We Are And that’s where we, Ivy Education Group, comes in. Organizations like Dew Drops greatly depend on donations to do their work. At IEG, we are of course, dedicated to providing the best education possible for all of our students, connecting with our parents, and creating growth opportunities for our own staff. But it’s not just about us. We want and need to also look beyond ourselves. We want to provide opportunities for our own community to reach out and help others as well, because we have the means, the passion, and the desire to so. Which is why Ivy Education Group is hosting our second Charity Concert “A Night to Remember, this coming June. Four years ago, we had an opportunity to host our first ever charity concert featuring the award-winning a cappella group the Dartmouth Aires from Dartmouth College. The Four Seasons Hotel Beijing kindly offered their entire, beautiful ballroom for free, and friends and families of the Ivy and Daystar communities rallied to donate amazing items for our silent auction. The collective effort resulted in raising 142,607.72 for two organizations, Educating Girls of Rural China, and A Bridge for Children. Since then, it’s become a unique tradition for IEG to host an a cappella group from a U.S. Ivy league school every year, with Harvard University’s the Harvard Krokodiloes performing with us not once, but twice already (in 2017 and 2018). This year, we have been able to organize not just the Harvard Krokodiloes, but Harvard’s premier all female ensemble the Radcliffe Pitches, to come to China at the same time. The two groups often perform together on campus and every Spring break in Bermuda but have never performed together in China. Such an amazing opportunity called for an especially thoughtful concert, one that would be memorable and meaningful for all. And that is how we have made the decision to host our second “A Night to Remember” Charity Concert. The “A Night to Remember” Charity concert will take place on Friday, June 14th 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel Beijing. It’s About Helping Those Most Vulnerable Choosing the recipients for our charity drive was no easy task, as there are so many deserving organizations. However, for Ivy Education Group, we wanted to make sure that our funds supported education in some way, as well as children who are the most at risk. It was also important to us that whichever organization we identified was reputable, transparent and could be held accountable in all that they do. With those parameters in mind, we are delighted to share that the two organizations that we will be supporting are Educating Girls of Rural China, and Dew Drops Little Flowers. “On behalf of our team and all the girls we sponsor I would like to express my appreciation to Ivy Education Group for your great support! The funds which will be raised from this upcoming concert will provide high school education opportunities to girls in rural Gansu Province. Educating girls is educating future generations. And this is the fundamental way to lift people out of poverty and build better societies.” Ching Tien, Founder of Educating Girls of Rural China 11