Hoffman teen's fundraiser for quake victims also aids park district
Susan Liu's been spending the last couple of weeks organizing a fundraiser to help the victims of the May earthquake in China.
Liu, 17, graduated from Hoffman Estates High School this year. When she heard about the May 12 quake that ripped through the Chinese province of Sichuan, she said she obsessively checked Internet news updates. The latest death statistics released Tuesday report 69,197 casualties, with 18,263 still missing.
"I've just seen pictures. It's really eye-opening and scary," Liu said.
While hanging out one afternoon at Woodfield mall, she came up with the idea to hold a garage sale benefiting the victims. She calls it "Operation Phoenix," named after the mythological bird that rose from the ashes. The sale goes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Blackhawk Community Center's gym, 1685 W. Higgins Road. Clothes, toys and DVDs are some of the items for sale.
She plans to donate proceeds to the American Red Cross, which has already approved the event. But not all the money raised will go toward earthquake victims.
Struggling to find a place to hold the event, Liu agreed to split evenly the proceeds with the Hoffman Estates Park District in exchange for use of the park district site. Normally, the site costs $80 per hour to rent.
In exchange for waiving that fee, Liu will donate half the proceeds to the park district's own charity group, the Friends of Hoffman Estates Parks, which helps disadvantaged families.
"We're always trying to help our foundation out," said Sherri Balke, the park district's facilities manager.
The foundation - though not directly - benefits from the park district's revenue streams. The Chinese earthquake victims don't have money from a recent billboard deal overlooking the highway, or an agreement with the Chicago Wolves to rent the park district's facilities. Too bad.
Upon hearing about the arrangement, park board President Craig Bernacki commented that it "just doesn't sound right" and that, given the charitable aspect of the project, Liu should be able to use all the proceeds for her chosen cause.
Balke, who helped negotiate the deal with Liu, added that the room at Blackhawk is typically "heavily used." Liu booked the room about a month ago.
Saddened by the suffering in China, Liu almost skipped her senior prom. While the growing trend for teens is to spend hundreds of dollars in salons, on limos and on dresses, Liu didn't want to be part of that. She told friends and family she wanted to donate the money she earmarked from prom to earthquake victims. But her friends and teachers convinced her that prom is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Her parents, Minghui and Bing, are from northeast China. Liu has no family living in Sichuan, no direct contact with the areas affected by the earthquake. She just says she's always felt connected to her roots, having visited China. Her parents made her take Mandarin classes on the weekends as a child at Conant High School through the Xilin Chinese School.
Hopefully, Liu said, there will be plenty of people at the sale to generated money that will make a difference to earthquake victims. Regardless of background, Liu, who will attend the University of Pennsylvania, wants the community to unite and help those devastated by the disaster.
"I hope I see people out there that I don't normally see," she said.
Contact Ashok Selvam at aselvam@dailyherald.com or (847) 427-4485.