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Hospice Charity Music Night 2010

by Brenda Ch'ng

If you looked up the thesaurus, you'd find that the word charity could simply be replaced with benevolence or kindness, hospice with rest home and music with harmony. Bring all those emphatic words together and you'd get a harmonious rest home filled with kindness. Well what other healthier way there is to depict the non-profit hospice organization?

Made up of compassionate volunteers, caring staff and patient doctors, hospice is always on the hunt for donations to enable the best treatment and care for their less fortunate patients. Thus, needless to say, fund raising events such as this charity music night are put together every year. Being it a success this year, similarly to the ones prior, it would not be so were it not for the generous donations which made the whole night possible. Among the vast support and donations received were Taipanco; the main sponsor, gracious donors, Center Stage dancers, Annabel Yong and off course not forgetting the amazing, talented pianist who helped made this night possible; Nicole Lee.

Buzzing with the arrival of the crowd at 7pm, light music played in the background, setting the ambience for the night as on-going chatter erupted inside the ballroom. People were ushered to their seats while volunteers and staff made sure everyone was well looked after; the old, the young, the healthy and the disabled. Soon, all chairs around the tables were filled and all attention was directed towards the stage for speeches and performances. Food ensued performances as applause heightened after the two singing sensations; Ms. Lee Kwai Fong and Mr. Jeson Chia stunned audiences with their powerful soprano and tenor voices respectively.

The night adjourned at about ten as the last of desserts on the tables were finished off. It was all in all a night of success, not only for hospice but also for every single one who were there and who were apart of the event. That night, everyone would have gone home feeling blessed to be alive and healthy, parallel to the warm feeling growing on the inside when they start to realize that tonight they might have helped change the fate of one less fortunate sick family.

That night taught me that charity is not one of show and tell nor is it a competition of who raised the most money. The definition of charity is kindness, altruism and compassion. The charity music night showed that there are still an abundance of people who can feel empathy, who want to help others who are in need. With that said, the best kind of charity would be one from the heart.