HBV club hosts fundraiser

The+Hepatitis+B+%28HBV%29+club+sold+pearl+milk+tea+after+school+today+in+efforts+to+raise+money+for+the+Jade+Ribbon+Campaigns+fight+for+HBV+awareness.

Shannon Su

The Hepatitis B (HBV) club sold pearl milk tea after school today in efforts to raise money for the Jade Ribbon Campaign’s fight for HBV awareness.

The Hepatitis B (HBV) club hosted a fundraiser selling pearl milk tea after school today to raise awareness for their cause.

According to the Hepatitis B Foundation, HBV ranks the most widespread critical liver disease worldwide. The infection affects over two billion people globally, resulting in about 400 million incurable cases and one million deaths. Currently, one of every 20 people in the United States suffer from the condition. Though facile to contract, HBV can be easily avoided by vaccination.

After pre-ordering 60 drinks from Quickly last week, club presidents Justin Yen (11) and Srivinay Irrinki (11) picked up the tea and set up their booth in the front loading zone after school. Proceeds raised from the fundraiser will be granted to the Jade Ribbon Campaign run by the Stanford Liver Center.

“We wanted to raise awareness for Hepatitis B, because it is a very common disease but not many people know about it,” Srivinay said. “We had stickers on each tea cup with facts about the disease. We are going to donate our proceeds to help any way we can with new research and outreach that will reduce the outbreak of Hepatitis B.”

The charity sale lasted from right after school to about 3:30 p.m. when the tea sold out. Each beverage sold at a price of 3.5 dollars, totaling to around 110 dollars that will be donated.

“I think it’s great that they are selling pearl milk tea to help a great cause,” Isabel Lai (9) said. “Milk tea is really popular so hopefully they got a lot of sales and will donate to the organization.”

Srivinay and Justin came up with the proposal to sell the pearl milk tea long ago, and after gaining support from Upper School Club Coordinator Erik Kallbrier, they finalized their plans.

Among the club members helping out with the fundraiser was Nathan Dalal (11), who signed up in efforts to encourage the club’s plan of outreach.

“Hepatitis B in my opinion is something that is preventable so people need to understand what it is because they can prevent it by getting vaccinations,” Nathan said. “The fundraiser donated money to help increase awareness of the disease and possible preventive measures.”

The club plans to participate in the World Hepatitis Day at Stanford and to continue searching for other outreach events to raise awareness for HBV.