Raising funds from the heart

Giant hearts have taken over Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City, in this exhibition through which the IMSS Foundation and the Santiago Foundation are encouraging citizens to join the fight against childhood cancer and raise funds through the auction of these hearts.

The 25 heart-shaped sculptures were decorated by key figures in the arts, design, fashion, sports, culture, entertainment, gastronomy, and architecture industries.

Patricia Guerra, General Director of the IMSS Foundation, explained that the money will be used to install new play centers in pediatric oncology departments in the hospitals of the IMSS clinics (Mexican Social Security Institute) across the country.

The project emerged due to the interest of the IMSS and Santiago Foundations, presided by Fernando Quinzaños Solórzano, to provide areas where children with cancer are able to develop their creativity, reinforce their emotional intelligence, and improve their overall mood – a key factor with a considerable impact on their recovery.

In his message, the director of the Children's' Hospital of the XXI Medical Center, Enrique López Aguilar, informed that, currently, 80% of children with cancer treated at the IMSS survive, although “it's not enough to cure them, we also need to provide them with companionship and develop in them a feeling of belonging.”

The exhibition, between the Bancomer Tower and the Diana the Huntress Roundabout, will run from May 28 to June 13 , then the works will be auctioned.

Among the artists who participated in the initiative titled " Contigo de Corazón " ("With You, From the Heart") are singer Marco Antonio Solís, chef Enrique Olvera, the brothers Mejía Avante from music group "Los Ángeles Azules", actress Susana Zabaleta, among others.

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