Thai
LIGHT FOOTSTEPS INITIATIVE
Watch this space for announcements, updates, and features from the team at Light Footsteps.
Stay tuned!
Q&A with our newest Intern: Katherine Lange
This summer, three hand-selected interns will be joining us. First up, Katherine Lange from the University of St. Andrews!
Why did you apply? :
I have a passion for humanitarian work and was hoping to spend my summer doing just that. The humanitarian field peaked my interest when I heard a gentleman who had worked for the Red Cross speak about his experiences. This is when I realised that the humanitarian field is something I would like to make a career out of. From this point I became very involved with our UNICEF on Campus Society at university, which helped unveil my desire for my humanitarian work to be youth focused. Combined with my love of travel, when I saw the advertisement for the Light Footsteps Initiative it was the perfect fit for me and I could not wait to apply.
What project are you most excited about? :
I would have to say that out of our three projects I am
most excited about the Logistics Project. I am most looking forward to this project because with the work that we do I will be most able to see the operations of the Light Footsteps Initiative come to life. The fundraising project certainly supplies the fuel for these operations and the social media campaign provides exposure and recruits support and these projects absolutely hold significant value. However, I am most excited for the logistics project in that it is most directly related to the efficiency of our efforts for the children.
What are you most excited about in general?
I am most excited to see the overall contribution our work has made on the Light Footsteps Initiative effort. I think that to be able to see the projects come together and their results and effects by the end of the summer will be incredible, and my hope is that their effects are lasting.
What is a fun fact about you? :
A fun fact about myself is that I have five siblings, four dogs and a horse! My sister Elizabeth (or Bith) is the oldest and she is 30 years old. My brother John is second, he is about to be 29 and he is the owner of one of our dogs Perry.Alexander (or Gander) is third in the line up and has just turned 27. Caroline is fourth, she is 23 years old and the owner of one of our other dogs Calli, who is named after the University of Kentucky basketball coach. My youngest sibling, Victoria, is 18 years old and the proud owner of the new puppy, Toby, who we took home only a week ago. Scottie is our family dog, named after Scotland where I attend university, and Suzie is our family horse. It is quite the mix, but I would not want it any other way!
Featured Videos
We feature inspirational videos as well as dance videos on our youtube channel.
Here are some of our dance videos, which are only some of the many videos that are given to these children so that they are able to learn new choreography and become introduced to new styles of dance and new places in the world even when they are not in a hospital.
"Rooftop" Setting Themed Conteporary-Style Dance in Argentina, Advanced
Chair Dance for hospital children who cannot walk
2014 has been a truly spectacular year.
We have new additions to our team; thank you Debra, our director of volunteering, Alexis, our director of fundraising, Somjook, Ning Nong, and Daeng for joining our staff at the various hospitals, and Mr. Surasee Kasolnaoin, Frederick Doepke, and Mr. Wasunshine for being a part of the Board of Advisors and supporting us throughout the year.
We have currently expanded to four hospitals.
One realization I have had is that many times, hospitalized youth do not have the resources to pursue their passions outside of the hospital after they leave our program. Thus, we are also starting to implement an "after-hospital" program that will provide the same resources and mentors to them even after they leave us. Once part of the LFI family, always a part of the LFI family.
We have managed to set up music and athletics programs as well as dance programs, such so that youth can have their passions met. After raising $2,015, far exceeding our initial goal of $1,000, we are now investing those funds into hiring more talented mentors and subsidizing resources that enable the youth to pursue their passions.
This new year brings new challenges and greater goals. We have a few exciting developments in the works, including rebranding from Light Footsteps Dance to Light Footsteps Initiative (LFI), as we have expanded from simply dance and we do not think that our original name is well-matched for what we do.
We will be opening up our volunteering program to more students in the next year, so stay tuned for the next year for LFI!
-Yada Pruksachatkun, Founder & President
Congratulations, our brave athletes
Recently, LFD supported our sick kids to attend the National Special Olympics at Nakorn Rajchasima, we got two silver awards, Congratulations! We are so proud of them; they have come such a long way, and show the potential within these youth.
Flashmob: Spreading the Cause
From the 17th to the 19th, Light Footsteps staff and student volunteers surprised the crowds with a flashmob, from malls to market places. The purpose? To spread the cause.
Click the image or here to check it out.
Introducing....Alexis Massey!
My name is Alexis Massey and I am currently the head of finances at Light Footsteps Dance, in charge of managing money inflows and outflows and starting the fundraising phase of this organization. I am proud to be a part of this cuase and hope to help this organization continue to do incredible things and spread impact in the future.
A Huge Thank You
Thank you very much Nigel and Diane Rains for your
contribution to the cause!
Updates!
Light Footsteps has joined Idealist, which is a platform for organizations and non-profits to communicate and to post job, internship, and volunteer opportunities to the rest of the world .We will be posting a few volunteer opportunities in the very near future, so stay posted!
We are now officially collaborating with the Rajanagarinda Institute of Child Development!
From right to left: Two head of staff at the institute, Dr. Samai Sirithongthaworn, director of the Rajanagarinda Institute of Child Development, Mr. Surasee Kosolnavin, President of the Sathirakoses Nagapradipa Foundation, and Yada Pruksachatkun, founder of Light Footsteps.
Light Footsteps is in Idealist!
Year in Review: 2013
This year has been the first year this initiative has come into place, from an idea pondered about many sleepless nights and days in my head to what it has become now.
On the ground level, Busabong, the hospitalized young woman who is the inspiration behind this initiative, is now back in her hometown in the hillstribes of Chiang Dao. She has gone back to her sport, and is now encouraging other hospitalized children to take initiative and have confidence in their abilities, and to dance. Jinny, who used to glower at the people she met, is now audacious and energetic, having gone through her first public dance preformance this year. And children awaiting surgeries and chemotherapy smiling, laughing, pain forgotten for a while.
This year, so many people have reached out to us, from around the world, from students to CEOs. Their support not only enables the team to continue but also gives the children a glimpse of the ripples they are starting to make. "The Empowered You" video campaign had garnered over thirty submissions, and the result?
(Click on picture to watch video)
There have been so many stories, so many moments where I have to stand back, and look in wonder, at who these children have become and how much they have changed in just one year. What will happen, in three? Seven? Twenty? 2013 has come and gone, and in the wake of this year, comes bigger goals, from more regular video uploads to expansion to hospitals outside Thailand and more effective social media campaigns.
In my journey to empower hospitalized children, I have learned the true meaning of empowerment from them
Yada Pruksachatkun, Founder
Empowered You
Christmas is drawing near, and with that, Light Footsteps is preparing gifts for both the hospital children in Chiang Mai, Thailand and the hospital children from all over the world. One of these global presents is hope, including a video to inspire these children and to show them that their voices are being heard.
And we need your help.
Using any recording device, from a phone camera to a voice recorder to a DSLR,
answer the question "What inspires and empowers you?" and post it on Facebook or email us at lightfootstepsdance@gmail.com by December 20th with your first name and country to be part of the Christmas video.
To find a video on the topic by our founder, click here.
Tedx Talk up!
It is to our great pleasure to present the Tedx Talk on Light Footsteps Dance!
Please click here to view.
The Inspirational
Light Footsteps holds in high belief that hospitalized children can do anything and everything they desire, whether it be writing a book or becoming a public speaker. History has shown that it can be done time and again, and we would like to cherish and remember the most important and most inspirational of all that have paved the way for coping with diseases.
4) Talia joy Castellano
Even though she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, which is a rare form of cancer found in children, and even though she was young, she found in herslef the will to do what she loved: to create youtube videos about makeup, and to feel beautiful and be joyous, even though she knew her end was near. She died, 13, but still her legacy goes on through her youtube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/user/taliajoy18
3) Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie, a more welknown celebrity, was diagnosed with breast cancer. While awaiting treatment, she used her fame in order to speak out and publish a piece on the New York Times to share her experiences with others that may be going through the same experience and to give them hope and empowerment.
2) Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking contracted a life-threatening form of pneumonia in 1985, which rendered him alive but without the ability to speak. For a man of his intellectual capacity, having studied at Oxford and who is now the mastermind behind one of the most paradigm-shifting works on cosmology of this century, was left without the means to communicate. Fortunately, a type of machinery was built that enabled him to use a switch to make words, but that could only create 15 per minute. Throughout all of these difficulties, mentally and physically, he has published over 10 books and countless other articles.
1)Terry Fox
Terry Fox was a Canadian athlete with osteosarcoma, an aggressive malignant tumor, on his right leg. He had his leg replaced by a mechanical one, and started the Marathon of Hope in 1980, in hope of raising $24 million for his Canadian people. Despite his leg, he ran more than 20 kilometers every day. Even though he finished his marathon to cross from one end of Canad to the other, his cancer spread to his lungs, and he died nine months later. He shows that the mind is more powerful than we can ever imagine.
TEDx Announcement
Light Footsteps Dance is going global!
On the 14th of September this year, the founder will be giving a talk about this project, the title of which will be "On Life and Lines."
Check back for more updates as the day draws nearer!
Light Foosteps has a Facebook Page!
Light Foostesps is now on social media, so "like" for regular updates, behind-the-scene glimpses, quotes, stories, and facts and figures on the cause as it progresses.
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