American Cancer Society Recognizing Excellence - "Love Note Around the World 2012" Won The Innovation Award both at LA Regional & CA Division Level

This project was conceived by myself in 2011 and executed by volunteers from the Southern California Chinese Relay For Life. As a cancer survior, I remebered reading "notes" that send from family, friends or treatment center's volunteers with caring and encouraging messages meant a world to me and did bring  hope and inspiration.  We had only 2 weeks of time to meet the 2-14-11 deadline and we were able collected 800 cards and delivered them to Methodist Hospital on Valentine's Day with the help of local high school students. The program was well received with high mark & positive feed back from the receipients, on that noted, we know we have to continue and plan for 2012.

"Love Note Around the World 2012" launched in the new year of 2012 under the wing of Southern California Chinese Relay For Life in collecboration with United Charity Foundation, Huntingtion Memorial Hospital and many additional partners we recruited.  Huntington Memorial Hospital hosted the Love Notes Around The World VIP dinner event and served as a the local U.S. site for distribution of Love Notes to cancer patients on Valentine's Day 2012.

Student volunteers from San Marino High School, Temple City High School, Arcadia High School,  Arroyo High School and others collected love notes from the local community, China Taiwan and Hong Kong for distribution to cancer patients at Huntington Hospital and to hospitals abroad.

Love Notes Around The World 2012 was a 2nd annual effort to bring hope and inspiration to cancer patients while increasing awareness of the American Cancer Society's life-saving programs and services and the Southern California Chinese Relay For Life among the Chinese community and the San Gabriel Valley at large.  An A-list of more than 25 leaders worked together to increase the project’s reach and impact via a VIP dinner event hosted by Huntington Memorial Hospital.

The Chinese Floral Arts Foundation - USA Charter and the delegation of 6 floral masters fro The Chinese Floral Arts Foundation of Taipei donated their time and talent to entertain and educate guests at the program's VIP dinner event with a special presentation featuring flower arranging and a tea ceremony, along with a discussion of the therapeutic effects of these traditional practices from Chinese culture.

The Huntington Library Chinese Garden Verdant Mist Scholar Society donated the "Scholar Treasuer Box" for all the guests in attendance.

 A true collaboration by volunteers of all ages and diverse affiliations, this program resulted in the delivery of more than 10,000 notes and effectively engaged numerous important target audiences, including government leaders, educators and students, medical professionals, cancer patients, and local media.

In addition to delivering caring messages to cancer patients, Love Notes Around the World served as a new, innovative, and culturally relevant platform for generating increased awareness for the Southern California Chinese Relay for Life and the Society's life-saving mission, programs and services among diverse and important audiences, including local government leaders, educators and students, medical professionals, cancer patients and their families, local media, and the Chinese Community throughout San Gabriel Valley.   

On 9-13-12 I attended the LA Regional Award Program at the LA Athletic club in downtown LA, it was part of their LA Regional Committee annual meeting, it was an intimate audience of undr 100 people.

On 9-28-12 I attended the American Cancer Society, Inc. California Division 2012 Annual Awards Program wiith my partner in crime Ling Wu at the Hyatt Regency Orange County. Thinking it'll be similar like the other...well...this is different...volunteers of Relay for Life from all over California were there, this time the award was presented in front of a thousand people!

I certainly feel and see the bigger picture of what ACS mission is about...this nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advovacy, and servise is the "THE OFFICIAL SPONSOR OF BIRTHDAYS"

It's an honor and a previledge for me to have given the opportunity to work with all the wonderful volunteers on this project. I see myself as the cheerleader for accepting the award on all of your behalf. And thank you from the bottom of my heart.

It's a bitter sweet fo me personally accepting these awards on the month of September...becasue it mark the anniversary of my late mother Mrs. Wai-Wah Shum Cheng. She was my north star and the driving force for me for all my charity works. I'll dedicated this "Innocation Award" to her.

"I Love You, Mom"