Spencer, Year 12, Century Park Campus

Charity is tightly wound into both our school motto and our history as a school community. Creative fundraising activities including water balloon tosses with teachers, “student helper” auctions, and homework coupon sales have become highlights of my YCIS school years so far. This year, two of our IB classmates, Floyd and Dongho, continued the charity spirit by pioneering a memorable but frighteningly original charity event called the “Zombie Run”.

The event took place after dark on November 6 and involved the “Zombies” (IB students) “chasing” a group of nearly one hundred participants (other Secondary students). A significant amount of funds were raised through an entry fee from the participants, as well as through selling goods at the Student Council-sponsored bake sale. The overwhelming amount of student participation was extraordinary. A huge number of students in Years 7 through 13 all stayed at school well into the night to take part in the fun. Great effort went into the organisation of the run, providing a unique and altogether unprecedented, thrilling event for the whole school. 

Floyd and Dongho chose to support the organisation “Heart to Heart”, and it was fantastic to see such enthusiasm in supporting the organisation, which provides heart surgeries for children in rural China with congenital heart disease. Having a long-term relationship with the organisation, our school sends a team of students to visit the children at the hospital every year. We have met each one of the children we have helped, and love spending time with the parents and children whose lives we have helped to change. We hope to make another visit this year and see the child whom the 2014 “Zombie Run” has helped benefit.