Students’ Lip Dub Video Supports Cincinnati Children’s

When the students at Lakota East High School set their minds to something, they get it done.  

For months, members of the school’s National Honor Society brainstormed ways to help kids in their area while fostering community spirit. Finally, a plan came together – a lip dub project. 

“Over the summer we saw some videos online of lip dubs,” says Sydney, a senior at Lakota East. “We wanted to do one, but do something different than the hundreds on YouTube. We thought that since Cincinnati Children’s is so close, we could use ours as a way to raise money for the hospital.” 

Sydney utilized the new Giving Hope community philanthropy program at Cincinnati Children’s to help spread the word and the video. And, to support Amelia, a sixth-grader in the Lakota East district who has spina bifida, Sydney and her crew decided to direct their funds to the Center for Spina Bifida Care at Cincinnati Children’s to help the program and raise awareness about the condition. 

“Amelia is just a really great kid,” Sydney says. “She can light up a room. A lot of people don’t know what spina bifida is, so we wanted to support her and other kids who have the condition.” 

With a goal set, and inspiration to boot, Sydney and about 3,100 of her friends, classmates and community members got together to record a professional-quality lip dub and shared it online through her personalized Giving Hope webpage. 

The Giving Hope web pages provide an easy way for community fundraisers to share their story, post pictures and share their page via email and social media. Donors can donate directly to Cincinnati Children’s through each fundraiser’s Giving Hope web page.  

“Using the web page was really easy,” Sydney says. “The Giving Hope team set it up, then we just added our information and our video. We didn’t expect to raise as much money as we did! It’s been an awesome experience.” 

The students raised more than $13,000 through the Giving Hope web page and fundraisers at the school and in the community. They hope to raise even more for the medical center by continuing to share the video and spreading the word about Giving Hope. 

“We are so lucky to have such a supportive community,” Sydney says. “And it’s really great that we can bring awareness about spina bifida and make a difference for the patients at Cincinnati Children’s.”