[CHIẾN DỊCH HOÀN THÀNH – CAMPAIGN COMPLETED] HILLS 4 HEARTS 2 – FUNDRAISER TO SUPPORT SURVIVE TO THRIVE

My family had called Vietnam home for many years and after losing our son prematurely in 2019 I decided to run my first ever Marathon to raise money for Survive to Thrive – an initiative of the VinaCapital Foundation founded to fund neonatal intensive care units in the poorer regions of Vietnam.

The fundraiser was a great success and we raised over 10,000 USD which led to the setup of the first neonatal ICU in Yen Bai Province Vietnam.

Me and the VCF team visiting the ICU at Van Yen Commune Health Center, Yen Bai Province
I was blown away and humbled by the generosity people showed to reach our target and the assistance of the amazing people at VinaCaptial Foundation. We had a handover ceremony and Yen Bai Hospital where I was fortunate enough to have the honour of laying a plaque on the new equipment in memory of Billy.

The kindness and warmth of the people in Yen Bai and meeting the families and babies the equipment was saving was a truly memorable experience. The equipment has already saved the lives of hundreds of babies in Yen Bai in the past year alone.

Unfortunately, there are still hundreds of preventable deaths each day. Neonatal mortality in Vietnam accounts for more than 60% of all deaths in children under five. Survive to Thrive focuses on providing the much need for equipment and training to curb this.

For those who followed last year’s event, I put a lot of research into finding the right organization and cause to partner with and I couldn’t be more impressed and confident in the professionalism and care of the team at VinaCaptial Foundation.

The Hills for Hearts was planned to be an annual fund-raising event in Vietnam but after COVID hit our plans were shattered. As such, I have decided to do the fundraiser this year from Australia and with a twist – Anyone is free to join, from anywhere in the world and for any distance and be part of this amazing initiative and help us reach our goal. Details below:

When: Saturday, February 20th, 2021

Where: Newcastle (Honeysuckle) to Caves Beach – or sign up virtually https://www.hills4hearts.org/get-involved

How Far: Approx 43kms in total but people can choose to join for any distance 5km, 10km 21km and help with fundraising.

Target: $10,000 USD

Where does the Money go: The money will go to the same cause “Survive to Thrive” and be used to purchase necessary equipment for the establishment of neonatal intensive care units. (The VinaCapital Foundation will choose the hospital in the province most in need).

What equipment will be purchased: 1 Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), 1 Phototherapy, 1 Pulse Oximeter (SPO2), injection pumps, and training.