Giving back to society can be very rewarding, a group of AsiaWorks pupils who aspire to raise NT$1 million for the elderly and physically disabled said yesterday in Taipei.
The three-month program teaches pupils self-growth and leadership, said volunteer Gina Wu (吳湘庭), adding that the students come from various professional backgrounds including finance, insurance and sales.
“After finishing our program at the end of October, our class of 21 students decided to raise funds for two charity organizations, one of which is a home for the physically disabled and the other is a home for the elderly,” Wu said.
“We believed that with a small group of people, society can become a better place,” Wu said.
In the past month, Wu and her peers have asked individuals and businesses to donate to the two charities.
Yesterday, the students hosted a 50-stall fundraising fair at the Liberty Plaza in downtown Taipei.
In addition to the sense of contribution the pupils get by organizing the fair, the event also sought to involve more people — the fairgoers — in the giving process, Wu said.
“When you begin providing service to other people, you will be in the position to give, and by giving you can be a sufficient being,” Wu said.
“We have gotten about NT$900,000 so far, but what is more important is that in addition to money, we will also visit the two organizations to interact with the people who live in them,” Wu said.
“We plan to do it on a regular basis,” Wu said.
“Our goal is to give them warmth and make them happy, and a lot of times that involves more than money,” Wu said.
Asked what made the deepest impression on her during the program, Wu said that after she sent out a mass e-mail to her friends about the fundraiser, her e-mail was forwarded several times.
“And after about three or four rounds, a pharmaceutical representative received my letter and offered to provide the home for the disabled with an antiseptic solution on a long-term basis,” Wu said.
“When we first started, we never expected [a chain] effect like this, but like my peers say to each other a lot, good people tend to congregate,” she said.
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