Just short of a month since going online, a COVID-19 relief fundraiser organized by seven members of the Taiwanese diaspora raised more than US$50,000 for five social welfare groups helping society’s most vulnerable to weather the COVID-19 outbreak.
When COVID-19 cases began to spike in Taiwan in May, those of the group living in Taiwan began researching organizations with strong histories of helping vulnerable groups, including low-income individuals, domestic violence victims, migrant workers, homeless people and those with disabilities, the organizers said.
Their original plan to directly connect donors with the organizations proved challenging due to the organizations’ Chinese-only Web sites and inability to receive donations from abroad, so the organizers helped the groups create English landing pages and set up payment systems that can accept foreign transactions, they added.
After approaching about 15 organizations, the group ended up working with five: the 1919 Food Bank, the Hsinchulun Home, Homeless Taiwan, Serve the People and the Garden of Hope, they said.
The Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser eventually launched on July 8 with a goal of raising US$10,000, to be matched by the organizers.
The goal was reached after only three days, leading the team to revise its goal to US$25,000 with another matching donation.
By July 30, the fundraiser shattered the goal once more with US$26,000 raised by more than 200 donors for a total of more than US$50,000.
As of yesterday, the tally on the Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser Web site was US$28,191.
Most social welfare groups in Taiwan miss out on the chance to make themselves known internationally by only accepting domestic donations, Chinese Christian Relief Association secretary-general James Shia (夏忠堅) said yesterday, adding that he was particularly excited when the Taiwan Covid Relief team reached out to work with the association’s 1919 Food Bank.
The food bank has received US$10,000 through Taiwan Covid Relief, enough to satisfy the needs of 46 families for a year, Shia said.
The campaign has broken open international fundraising opportunities, he added.
Many people around the world want to give back to Taiwan in return for the assistance it provided last year, Taiwan Covid Relief organizer Catherine Chou (周怡齡) said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
LUCKY DATE: The man picked the 10th ‘Super Red Envelope’ in a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10 A man who recently broke up with his girlfriend won a NT$1 million (US$32,929) prize in the “NT$20 million Super Red Envelope” lottery after picking a card based on the date of their breakup, Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The man, in his 20s, bought the 10th ticket at a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢), because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10, the store owner told the lottery company. The “Super Red Envelope” lottery was a limited offering by the company during the Lunar New Year holiday, which ended yesterday. The cards, which cost NT$2,000 each, came with
TOURISM BOOST: The transportation system could help attract more visitors to the area, as the line is to connect multiple cultural sites, a city councilor said Residents in New Taipei City’s Ankeng District (安坑) said the local light rail system might have a positive influence, but raised questions about its practicality. The Ankeng light rail system, which is to commence operations after the Lunar New Year holiday, would cut travel time for commuters from Ankeng to downtown Taipei or New Taipei City by 15 to 20 minutes, the city government said. According to the initial plan, there would be one train every 15 minutes during peak time and additional interval trains would run between the densely populated Ankang Station (安康) and Shisizhang Station (十 四張). To encourage people to
CHAMPION TREES: The team used light detection and ranging imaging to locate the tree, and found that it measured a height of 84.1m and had a girth of 8.5m A team committed to finding the tallest trees in the nation yesterday said that an 84.1m tall Taiwania cryptomerioides tree had been named the tallest tree in Taiwan and East Asia. The Taiwan Champion Trees, a team consisting of researchers from the Council of Agriculture’s Taiwan Forestry Research Institute and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), in June last year used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imaging to find the giant tree, numbered 55214, upstream of the Daan River (大安溪). A 20-member expedition team led by Rebecca Hsu (徐嘉君), an assistant researcher at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, set out to find the
RSS