Walk for the Riverside Community Fund — Sunday 9 November
The money raised goes to after-school classes for disadvantaged children in our district. Last year 1,400 walkers raised enough for two full classrooms.
Please register online before 2 November. Late entries are accepted on the day, but we cannot promise you a T-shirt.
Dear Mr. Yang,
On behalf of everyone at the Willow Street Center, thank you for your contribution last month. The sixty chairs you donated arrived on Tuesday and are already in use.
Our evening classes had been turning people away for lack of seats. Because of you, twenty more residents can now join the free computer course.
We would be glad to paint your company's name on the hall door. If you would rather not be named, just tell us and we will say nothing at all.
With warm thanks,
Ruby Kao, Center Manager
Ask people why they give nothing to charity and most answer the same way: they are not wealthy enough to make any difference. The figures disagree.
In one city, a fund run by Christian and Buddhist volunteers asked 9,000 people for the price of one coffee each month. Nobody gave much. Together they paid for a night clinic that now treats about forty patients a week.
The lesson is not that small gifts work magic. It is that poverty is seldom ended by one rich donor, and often eased by many ordinary ones.
How the Riverside Community Fund spent its money last year (total NT$4.8 million).
| Program | Share | People served |
|---|---|---|
| After-school classes | 42% | 620 |
| Meals for older residents | 28% | 410 |
| Job training for immigrants | 19% | 155 |
| Office and staff | 11% | n/a |
All the figures were checked by an outside accountant in June.