YOU Made it Happen, Futsal for Flood Relief (2/2/07)

Friends of the Law Society,

To date, we have raised RM4,339.45 in the name of flood relief! We have come such a far way since January 1st, when Peter Hii asked what we could do for the flood victims, the day Jia Liang Lee suggested a futsal tournament.

In the beginning it was about our family affected by the flood, our classmates, our department. The circle of care grew wider. Students and staff of HELP were hurting, the city was hurting. When the flooding hit south Malaysia, we were all affected. This tournament is just a microcosm of this widening circle of care. All it took was one idea, and it grew to encompass 9 departments, 30 volunteers, 128 futsal players, 3 generous sponsors and incredible support from the community.

The early days of planning really set my enthusiasm for the tournament on high. We needed RM500 to cover the cost of the location. I told them this, and I left a bucket in each class. The law department students raised the 500 in two days because they believed. They believed in this cause, they believed in the tournament and they believed in me. We have gone on to raise RM 778.45 in total from our small department of just over 300. I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. I hope our tournament has done your generous contributions the justice they deserve.

The more speeches I made, the more community members I met, and the more days I wore that "Ask me about FUTSAL" name tag, the more support we received from outside of the department. To date, we have collected donations amounting to RM1,150 from the community. This does not include the RM150 voucher we received from Chilis. This does not include the RM3,500 worth of merchandise that FIGOS sponsored. This does not include the RM350 worth of parquet court hours Sports Plaza donated. If it was, we would have received RM5,150 worth of support from the community.

The tournament in and of itself welcomed 16 teams to donate RM120 to MERCY Malaysia. 16 teams stepped forward without knowing what the prizes were. They came because they wanted to play futsal and they wanted to do it for charity. These teams came from 9 departments, and their names were Ara United 7, Usi Malai Doko FC, CAPARO, A-Q!, Silent Punishers, PETPETENATORS, TORNADO, Estella, Indomie Telur, Soul Survivor, January, JUMBO, Slayer, Pompeii FC, Youth of Africa, and Joga Helpito. 8 of you walked away with gold around your necks, but 128 of you have gold inside your hearts. You raised RM1,920. With the donut and drink sales you and your spectators also supported, the tournament raised RM2,511.

So far, I have been centering our tournament's achievements in how much money we were able to raise. While this was an explicit purposes of Futsal for Flood Relief, it was not the only one. I have envisioned this tournament as being the magnet that draws us together as one beautiful HELP community. I have imagined it as a place where we can create connections, and strengthen existing ones. We have done it. Now each of you have at least 120 new faces you recognize. 120 new people that you can play futsal with. And many many more than 120 new people you know have amazing hearts of charity.

But we have more to speak about. We could have had an idea, we could have had teams, and we could have had prizes and a location, but that still would not have been enough for a tournament. This tournament could NOT have happened without our volunteers who donated their SKILLS and their TIME which is just as good, if not more valuable, than money.

• REFEREES: Venon Tian, Praevin, Jia Liang Lee, Aaron Chen, Joseph U, Chong Jyn, Richard and honorary Kirsty Lim!
  
• SCOREKEEPERS: Charlaine, Dolly, Elsa and Alina
• THE DAY OF: Sara, Adrian, Aishah, Reuben, Chiam, Kishore, Noel, Nadia, Shahriz, Archanah, Alfred, Leroy, my four A-levels ladies: Laura Low, Jessie Lim, Kar Ying, and Khai Yaan, my beautiful January donut sellers: Vincent (Shing Wei and Sarah leading), Wilson and Peter Hii.
• THE PRE-TOURNAMENT DAYS: Mr. Amir, Ms. Mala, Mr. Christopher of DSA, Mr. Loh of DSA, Mr. Murali of DSA, Usham, Vishal, Sam, Dad and Mom, Kirsty, Hui-Lynn, Nadia, Shahriz, Ms. Jaspal, Sara, Mr. Azmi of Maintenance and Divan, my first volunteer.
  
• MY FUTSAL EXPERTS: Danni Rais, Jia Liang Lee, Leon Chan, Venon, Sam, Usham and Rajiv.

I will continue to rack my brain for all of your important names. I sincerely and humbly apologize if your name is not listed here yet.

To all of the well-wishers, your support has sustained me in the darkest hours when I felt the tournament would not be able to go on. With your encouragement, through words and or actions, I was able to recenter myself time and again - - this is for flood relief, this is for community. We have achieved both. Together.


I love each of you so much.


Futsal Fever,
Michelle


Announcements below (newest ones updated in green):

• You can find 196 photos from my camera HERE. To download them in larger resolution, first click the thumbnail, then click "download photo" on the right, just above the slideshow link. If you have your own pictures to share, please e-mail them to iheartlaw [at] gmail [dot] com.
  
• LOST: A blue backpack belonging to a member of Tornado. It contains many of his necessary items to get by - his wallet, his cell phone, and international identification. If you know of its whereabouts or wish to return it, please contact me and no questions will be asked. This was a charity tournament. Please.
• FOUND: A silver necklace with two charms was turned in on the day of the tournament. If this necklace is yours, please describe it to me, and I will return it to you right away.
• *Edit: I was mistaken! The annual tournament is for football and there will be 11 a side. If you are interested, check with Mr. Murali (muralip@help.edu.my - Main Block office) before February 26th! I saw amazing skills on Friday. Please seriously consider making yourself available for the team and represent HELP well!