Over 100 members from student-run charity groups at two Hanoi high schools participated in an event to raise money for underprivileged children, the homeless, and impoverished patients at local hospitals.

The event, a talent show comprised mainly of song and dance performances, was held on the newly opened Trinh Cong Son Walking Street in the capital on June 30.

Students who did not perform managed stalls hosting folk games and tarot card readings, as well as sold pinwheels, fast food, and soft drinks, in order to raise money for SOS Children's Village in Hanoi and Hope Orphanage in the neighboring province of Hung Yen.

A separate portion of the proceeds from the event will go towards buying supplies for the local homeless population and providing treatment for needy dialysis patients in the Vietnamese capital.

“We selected many current hit songs to keep our young audience entertained,” Vu Nhat Phuong, a student at Marie Curie High School, shared.

Nhat Phuong and other members of the student group spent hours practicing to perfect the popular song and dance numbers they performed at the event.

A student rehears for the event. Photo: Facebook/HomeUp Heroes

The event organizers said one of their biggest challenges was acquiring a license to organize the fundraiser.

“It took nearly a month of preparation before we finally obtained permission,” said Nguyen Dieu Anh, a 12th grader from Hanoi-Amsterdam High School.

But the students saw a silver lining in the difficult process, shared Anh, adding that those involved “met many new contacts and made friends with other volunteers.”

Another obstacle was the high cost of renting sound and lighting systems for the show.

Fortunately, the service providers agreed to reduce prices for the students and several even exempted transportation and installation costs to support of the fundraising activities.

As she watched the students actively participating in the event, Le Thi Bich Loan, a pharmacist living in Hanoi, praised the dedication the students showed towards helping the local community.

“These students are putting in a serious effort to make money by themselves and use it to help those less fortunate,” she said.

“We attended their event today to show our support to these warm-hearted teenagers”.      

All of the teenagers behind the event are members of the Iluminar Project and Homeup Heroes clubs.

Initially, Iluminar Project was just a group of 15 students from the same class at Hanoi-Amsterdam High School.

After three years, the group’s membership grew to 103, including students from other high schools in Hanoi and collaborators from other provinces and cities.

Homeup Heroes, founded by students of Chu Van An High School, aims to refresh or transform the living spaces of disadvantaged people through charitable projects..