Volume 7 Summer 2006 The Alumni Magazine of HKIS - Hong Kong ...

HKIS Spearheads St. Baldrick’s Day in Hong Kong
Sean Kligler at Delaneys
On Tuesday March 21st, 2006 at Delaney’s Bar in Wan Chai, 15 Hong
Kong International School employees and students joined a number of
brave and goodhearted souls in giving up their hair for the most worthy
of causes - childhood cancer research. The event honored Sean Kligler,
a 4th grade HKIS student who battled childhood cancer at age five. Sean
is better now, though the sad fact is childhood cancer kills more than five
children every month in Hong Kong with 120+ new cases each year.
Funds raised went to the Children’s Cancer Foundation (CCF) of Hong
Kong. An agreement was reached that all funds donated to St. Baldrick’s
Foundation will be used to assist major public hospitals in Hong Kong
to perform research and upgrade equipment in pediatric oncology.
Jackie Chan and Sean Kligler
In the fall of 2002, Jackie Chan was in New York City on a promotional
tour for “The Tuxedo” when he visited Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center. It was there Mr. Chan met a five year old boy named Sean
who was being treated for a rare form of childhood cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma.
Mr. Chan spent some time talking with Sean and took
a photograph with him. Fast forward to three weeks ago when Sean’s
Dad Richard - the driving force behind Tuesday’s event - tracked down
Jackie Chan’s company in Hong Kong and sent a letter and email to
him describing Sean’s battle and his eventual victory. His letter also
thanked him for lifting Sean’s spirits during this trying chapter of his
life. He went on to state that Sean was happy, healthy and living in
Hong Kong.
Richard included with the letter the picture of Jackie Chan and Sean
in 2002 and recent pictures of a healthy Sean in Hong Kong. The next
morning the Senior Vice-President (SVP) of Jackie’s company called
and told Richard that Jackie was on location in Kowloon making a movie.
When he came back to his office, she set him up for a big surprise.
First Jackie read the letter and the SVP showed him the photograph of
them at the hospital. Jackie said he clearly remembered Sean from that
visit and was happy to hear he was doing well. Then she showed him
the recent pictures of Sean in Hong Kong and she said that happy didn’t
even begin to describe Jackie’s reaction. First there was a big “Wah!!”
and then Jackie pulled everyone within reach over to the computer
screen to see the photos. “He was overjoyed”, she said. “Put this story
on the website!!” “Send Sean some t-shirts!!” “Print me out those pictures.”
Jackie then proceeded back to the movie set with the pictures to show
everyone and decided since he could not make it to Delaneys, he would
send autographed hats and photographs of himself to be auctioned.
Editors Note: Background information on St Baldrick’s Foundation In
1999, three reinsurance executives reminded each other about their professional
and personal good fortunes and debated how to “give back to
society.” They decided to turn the famed St. Patrick’s Day party into a
benefit for a good cause. But what could they do that would really turn
the heads of their industry colleagues? Since children lose their hair
during cancer treatment, it was decided they would shave their heads in
return for financial gifts. They planned to raise “US$17,000 on the 17th”
of March 2000. Actually that day over US$104,000 was raised! Since
that first event, St. Baldrick’s Foundation has raised over US$12 Million
and is the world’s largest fundraiser for childhood cancer research.
The St Baldrick’s Foundation has a clearly defined mission in that the
funds it contributes are required to go to research in finding a cure for
childhood cancer or to fund Fellowships to train aspiring researches for
careers in pediatric cancer, whereas other foundations spread out the
funds in many other areas besides research.
St Baldrick’s Hong Kong website can be viewed at:
http://www.stbaldricks.org/location_detail.asp?citycode=CHHKI06
Jackie Chan’s Website features Sean Kigler: For your reading pleasure,
visit www.JackieChan.com and scroll to the bottom of the Home Page
and click on the link with the picture of Jackie and Sean.
Sean and sister, Jill
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