Nanjing charity, Hopeful Hearts, has received a shot in the arm to the tune of almost half a million renminbi, thanks to the generosity of attendees to the British Ball which brought a touch of post-COVID glamour to the local international community.
由于英国舞会参与者的慷慨解囊，南京慈善机构“希望之心”获得了近 50 万元人民币的一剂强心针，英国舞会为当地国际社会带来了一丝后疫情时代的魅力。
Taking place on the evening of Saturday 15 May in The Ritz Carlton, Nanjing, the British Ball was the first of its kind to be held in Nanjing. Themed around the James Bond movie, “Casino Royale”, it was the bit of Las Vegas in town for the evening that was key to the phenomenal amount raised.
英国舞会于 5 月 15 日星期六晚在南京丽思卡尔顿酒店举行，这是南京首次举办此类活动。以詹姆斯·邦德电影《皇家赌场》为主题，拉斯维加斯之夜是筹集到惊人金额的关键。
When the green baize tables were put away and everything was tallied up, the 250 guests in attendance had gambled their way toward raising a grand total of precisely ¥420,000 for Hopeful Hearts.
当绿色呢子桌子收起，所有的东西都清点完毕后，出席的250位嘉宾已经通过赌博为希望之心筹集了总计42万日元的善款。
The Nanjing-based charity assists with funding life-saving operations for local children, often abandoned because of their condition, or because they come from a farming community and/or low-income families. Fully 96 percent of all money raised goes directly to paying for heart operations. Two more Hopeful Hearts’ teams operate in Guangzhou and Chengdu.
这家总部位于南京的慈善机构为当地儿童的救生行动提供资助，这些儿童往往因自身状况或来自农业社区和/或低收入家庭而被遗弃。筹集到的资金中 96% 直接用于支付心脏手术费用。另外两支希望之心团队在广州和成都开展工作。
On the subject of the Ball’s fundraising, Ellen Wieck-Mesarosch, Chair Person of Hopeful Hearts spoke with The Nanjinger. “The team and I were completely over the moon! [Now] we can support many more children, especially those with quite complicated and thus more cost-intensive surgery needs. That‘s just wonderful!”, she said.
关于舞会筹款的话题，希望之心主席埃伦·维克-梅萨罗什接受了《南京人》的采访。 “我和团队都欣喜若狂！[现在]我们可以支持更多的孩子，特别是那些手术需求相当复杂且成本更高的孩子。这真是太棒了！”她说。
“The surgery costs depend on the child’s specific condition, but surgeries of congenital cardiac malformations can be twice as cost intense as surgeries of, for example a VSD (ventricular septal defect) and can easily reach six digit numbers.”
“手术费用取决于孩子的具体情况，但先天性心脏畸形的手术费用可能是 VSD（室间隔缺损）等手术费用的两倍，而且很容易达到六位数。”
The British Ball was the brainchild of Erinda Demeti, Director of Admissions & Marketing at The British School of Nanjing.
英国舞会是南京英国学校招生与营销总监 Erinda Demeti 的创意。
Demeti previously lived in Beijing almost 17 years where the city’s British Ball was the highlight of expat social life. “Sadly, I didn’t find any similar events in Nanjing. I waited and waited, longing for a similar Ball, until I understood waiting is not the solution, so I decided I will organise one myself”, she told The Nanjinger.
德梅蒂此前在北京生活了近 17 年，北京的英国舞会是外国人社交生活的亮点。 “Sadly, I didn’t find any similar events in 南京. I waited and waited, longing for a similar Ball, until I understood waiting is not the solution, so I decided I will organise one myself”, she told The 南京er.
“As a mother, I understand how sad and hard must be for a parent of a sick child not being able to pay off the child’s medical bills. … However during COVID times, it has been impossible to organise any big social and fundraising events, but now we are so lucky to have almost a full normal life here in Nanjing, so I thought a big charity event will not only help raise funds for Hopeful Hearts, but also bring some fun and entertainment to our city.”
“作为一名母亲，我理解一个生病的孩子的父母无法支付孩子的医疗费用是多么悲伤和艰难。……但是在新冠疫情期间，不可能组织任何大型的社交和筹款活动，但现在我们很幸运能够在南京过上几乎完全正常的生活，所以我认为一个大型的慈善活动不仅可以帮助为希望之心筹集资金，还可以为我们的城市带来一些乐趣和娱乐。”
Wieck-Mesarosch wishes to thank the Ball’s whole team for their passion, energy and dedication to making it such a successful charity event. Hopeful Hearts greatly appreciates the time, talent and donations that help save the lives of more children. For more information on how to make a difference, visit the Hopeful hearts website; hopefulheartsnj.org.
Wieck-Mesarosch 衷心感谢舞会整个团队的热情、活力和奉献精神，使之成为一次成功的慈善活动。希望之心非常感谢您投入的时间、才华和捐款，帮助拯救更多儿童的生命。有关如何做出改变的更多信息，请访问 Hopeful Hearts 网站； Hopefulheartsnj.org。
