BIS Hanoi and Tet Shoeboxes Project

At BIS Hanoi, raising awareness and providing support to charitable causes is one of the areas of which we are most proud. This half term we are delighted to be supporting Tet Shoeboxes. This is a small organisation, which some members of staff have been donating to each year, and this time, we wanted to help on a larger scale.

This morning, our students across Primary and Secondary came to school in their casual outfits to support the Tet Shoeboxes Project in exchange for donations.

All the donations were delivered today to Tet Shoeboxes to supply an orphanage in Nam Dinh. Tet Shoeboxes will provide essentials such as shampoo, toothbrushes and towels donated by our Primary Students and families so that the orphanage running costs are supported throughout the year. The financial donations given by our Secondary Students were used to buy shoes, electronic items, diapers and school supplies to supplement the toiletries. 

We are pleased to share the great news that thanks to our Primary students' donations, we were able to collect all the essential toiletries requested by the orphanage. Additionally, we collected a total of over 11,000,000 VND in donations from Secondary students. Such a warm spirit at BIS!

We would like to say THANK YOU to the parents who came and volunteered their time today to help collect, sort, shop for and deliver donations - it is really appreciated and you helped the process to run smoothly! We would not have been able to do it without you.

Tet Shoeboxes Project

Tet Shoeboxes was set up by a group of expats living in Hanoi who wanted to give back to the local community in a meaningful way. Each year they liaise with an orphanage in Nam Dinh province, which caters for many children aged from babies to young adults, some of whom have special needs. Nuns run the orphanage as volunteers and they struggle to provide necessities for the children, let alone special gifts for Tet.

Tet is a special time of year in Vietnam where we enjoy spending time with our friends, families and sharing gifts, food and gathering. Therefore, for the children who are residents at the orphanage, Tet Shoeboxes links each one with a donor who shops for gifts personally tailored to suit that child’s age and interests. They then take the gift bags to the orphanage so that the children there may experience the joy of receiving a gift at Tet, which they may not have otherwise. 

The year 2020 has been a difficult one for many and charities and organisations which rely on donations have been seriously impacted. We are hopeful that BIS’s contribution this Tet will ease some of the difficulties and support those less fortunate than ourselves to enjoy Tet 2021.

We are hopeful that from this project, our students will increase their understanding of the importance of supporting others less fortunate than themselves and experience the joy of helping others in their local community.

If anyone would like to further support this project here are some ways you can help:

-Visit their Facebook page and give them a like! Follow their news, fundraising events and see how you can get involved https://www.facebook.com/TET.shoeboxes/

-Send them a message on Facebook and offer donations or your time- they have lots of work to do before Tet!

Emma Burden

Learning Support Teacher