Ceci and David live in Winnipeg, Canada, which is a sister city of Chengdu. In May 2013, Ceci and Davey accompanied their mom to Chengdu for a month-long work trip. While living in Chengdu, Ceci researched a project on pandas and they had the opportunity to visit the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Station twice. On the second visit to see the pandas they were hosted by the City of Chengdu Foreign Affairs office and Ceci had the special opportunity to have a panda bear sit on her lap. During their time in Sichuan, they also visited the earthquake zones and Ceci and Davey learned about the impact of the earthquakes on the lives of people and pandas.
When they returned to Canada, Ceci and Davey were very interested in helping to save giant pandas. They decided to organize a fundraising event and to tell their friends about giant pandas’ struggle to survive. They invited 2 friends (Emma and Paige, both age 10) to join them. The fundraiser took place on September 1, 2013. At the sale, they set up the yard to resemble a Sichuan teahouse. They sold tea, cookies, lemonade (pink and yellow), candies, pizza, and cheese and bean empanadas. Everything was homemade. Ceci put up the research project she had done when she was in China about giant pandas for people to read. At the sale, Ceci, Paige, Emma, and Davey also accepted donations. When someone made a donation they received a free panda picture which Ceci took while in China. They also received a panda figurine that had been donated by the Winnipeg Chinese Cultural and Community Centre in support of the fundraising efforts. Many friends, family, and neighbors attended the fundraiser. People from out of town also made donations.
At the sale, Ceci, Davey, Emma, and Paige had a great time. They wore “Save the Panda” t-shirts that were made for them for the event and had posters all over the neighbourhood. Through the fundraiser they raised $600, enough to adopt a panda! They are very excited about their accomplishment. They plan to make the fundraiser an annual event.
