CCPE Experience: The Send-Off

By Syaza Dinah

Event: Janice Ding’s Send-Off to Disneyland, HK
Date: 12th July 2008 @ 0645 hours
Venue: Changi Airport,Terminal 3

As part of the CCPE 2nd Anniversary: Ohana Retreat celebrations, Aspire! granted the wish of 11-year-old Janice, through Make A Wish Foundation (MAW). Janice’s dream is to visit Disneyland and meet her favourite Disney Princesses.

Aspire! wasted no time in raising money and a team was formed to organize a rousing send-off for Janice to Disneyland, Hongkong. Led by Zhen Ling, CCPE of Coral Secondary School, the team coordinated and planned a delightfully pink send-off for Janice in the early morning of 12 July. The team, most of whom were in pink (Janice’s favourite colour) presented Janice with a Princess-themed banner, a Disney necklace and sang her a song before her maiden flight. Janice’s wide smile says it all; she was touched by the celebrations.

Needless to say, the send-off party was a success thanks to the hardworking and passionate team of CCPEs. Channel CCPE managed to catch up with Zhen Ling on her experience leading the team.

Channel-CCPE (CC) : Being a new CCPE, how does it feel being put as in-charge of ‘Janice’s Send-Off’?
Zhen Ling (ZL) : Being new, I was naturally a little worried that I would miss out some details but I was really looking forward to the event, and was hoping it would turn out well and memorable for Janice.

CC : What made you want to take up this event?
ZL : I accepted this task as I wanted to give event planning and I felt that this event is really special.

CC : What were the obstacles that you faced while doing the event?
ZL : The management and MAW were very supportive and enthusiastic of our ideas. However, due to the odd-hour of her flight, the send-off was to be held very early in the morning and as such, responses from CCPEs were not as good as we hoped.

CC : Why was the theme song, "You'll Be in My Heart" chosen?
ZL : We wanted to sing to Janice a meaningful Disney song as she is an avid Disney fan and when we asked for suggestions from CCPEs, this song was simply the ‘hot’ favourite.

CC : What are the learning points that you obtained from managing this event?
ZL : This event is very different from the usual events; it is very meaningful because we should not forget to put ourselves in their shoes and consider their feelings in our plans.

CC : How has this event enriched you?
ZL : This event has made me realized that a simple wish that most of us may overlook can be actually very valuable to others and we should never take certain things forgranted.

CC : What advice would you give to future CCPEs if they were to plan an event?
ZL : Do not hesitate to ask seniors for advice. The seniors are always there to guide us.

Thanks once again to Zhen Ling, CCPE of Coral Secondary for sharing her experience with Channel CCPE.