The annual Big Little Hearts Garden Party happened again! On Thursday, May 9th, over 300 guests ranging in age from 7 to 87 gathered for an evening of live music, dancing, laughter, drinks, great Cambodian food and loads of goodwill for the cause that keeps us all united – the welfare of the kids at Little Hearts.
Following on the huge success of last year’s event, the party was again hosted at Hangar 27, a stylish multifunctional venue in Edegem, near Antwerp. The food was also this year catered by chef Willy and his daughter Mana. From 4 pm till 9 pm they served up delicious Khmer curry with baguette, fried spring rolls, and noodles with chicken, shrimps or veggies, while Jack Vosters, who is well known to everyone at Little Hearts (his parents, Tineke and Gerrit, have worked at Little Hearts as volunteers and will be back here in December 2024), serenaded diners with Beatles songs. After food, drinks and music outdoors, everyone moved inside to enjoy the main act, the local band Mariah Didn’t Call (MDC) led by Luk Vandenbulcke, a friend of our former caretaker Ilse Pacquée, and eventually hit the dancefloor to the pumping sound of dance music chosen by DJs Davidoff and Ax from Studio Uno, who were performing at our spring event for the 14th time!
The party was a great success. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made it possible – Dimitri Segers and Olivier Goossens, the owners and managers of Hangar 27, for letting us use their classy venue, and their collaborators, Patrick Janssens, Pol Martens and Vincent Pirotte, for coordinating the event; Willy and Mana for the delicious buffet of Cambodian delicacies; all the musicians and DJs for the entertainment; the 30 volunteers who helped set up the venue, usher in the guests, tend the bar and clean up afterwards; and of course our generous sponsors.
As many of you know, the Big Little Hearts Garden Party is our most important fundraising event of the year, and this year, too, it delivered much-needed funds for the care and education of the kids. One event, however, is never enough to meet all our financial needs for the year, so we’re always on the lookout for new sponsors. Whether providing one-time donations or continual funding, whether donating to our general budget or a specific budget item, sponsors ensure that we can take care of all our kids’ needs, from housing to nutrition to a quality education, and that we can set them on the way to a healthy, productive life full of opportunities. If you think you’d like to join our extended family of donors and contributors, or you know someone who might wish to do so, please get in touch with Dimitri at dimitri@littlehearts.be or Tony at tony@lho.ngo. Ever since Covid, funding has become especially challenging, so every contribution, no matter how small, will help sustain Little Hearts and earn the lasting gratitude and affection of an exceptionally bright, talented and humble group of children, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
We’re already looking forward to next year’s party!