Taiwan: S.H.E helps 45,000 children go to school

The Taiwan pop trio S.H.E, as spokespersons for the fashion brand Top Girl and in partnership with World Vision, recently devoted their time and talent to help disadvantaged children in Taiwan go to school. They designed three special edition t-shirts to be sold for charity and helped promote Love Loaf, a World Vision branded coin bank to collect donations.

In a three-month appeal from March to May, NT$1.5 million was raised from sales of 8,500 t-shirts, and nearly 14,000 Love Loafs were distributed to donors. An additional NT$16,000 was raised through t-shirts and Love Loafs autographed by S.H.E. All the funds raised will help about 45,000 children cover their educational expenses for two semesters.

According to World Vision, the current economic crisis has made it more challenging for children already living in poverty to pay for their education.

Hsiao-Ting’s (12) family of seven depends on her parents’ meager income as day laborers. As job opportunities have decreased and her father’s eyesight was impaired by an accident, it has become more difficult for the family to make ends meet. At the beginning of each new semester, the parents would spend many sleepless nights worrying about the school fees for their four children.

In order to help children like Hsiao-Ting and her siblings stay in school, World Vision offers tuition aid to students from preschool to graduate school levels.

In early February when spring semester began, 2,945 college and graduate students received NT$10,000 each; 9,372 senior high school students received NT$5,000 each; 12,415 junior high school and 15,745 primary school students received NT$3,000 each. Moreover, students who cannot afford transportation and boarding fees were helped with subsidies of NT$1,000 to 4,000.

The global financial crisis has also impacted the donor community. To make donations less a burden for individuals who care for the needy but have reduced disposable incomes, World Vision re-introduced Love Loaf last January to schools, businesses and public locations to collect small contributions.

Since its re-launch, the bread loaf shaped coin bank known as Love Loaf has regained its popularity, especially in schools. A total of 13,771 Love Loafs were adopted by the end of May.

For college and graduate students like Lin Min-Yu and Liao Yi-Shang, depositing coins into a Love Loaf was part of their memories from the primary school years. Once the Love Loaf was re-launched, they quickly adopted one and encouraged people around to do the same.

Also quick off the mark, Ella of S.H.E adopted a Love Loaf and put it in the manager’s office of her apartment building. Now the apartment manager regularly sends back the donations collected from tenants. In addition, her record company HIM Music also has one at the reception desk to provide an easy way for staff and visitors to donate.

There is still a gap of NT$86 million for World Vision to distribute tuition aid to keep the 45,000 children in school for the coming fall semester. The Love Loaf collections will continue until this target is met.

For further information please contact Cilia Yang, PR Specialist of World Vision Taiwan at Tel: +886-2-2175-1996 (ext 307) or Mob: +886-955-170-119.