On May 18th, the San Diego Taiwan-American Foundation/Taiwan Center held its 27th-anniversary celebration and awarded scholarships to high school students and the Model Mother Award. On the same day in the afternoon, the FOCA Formosa Circus, a traditional Taiwanese-American circus troupe, performed at the Taiwan Center auditorium.
The newly appointed chairman of the foundation, Chen Shu-shen, expressed that the success of the Taiwan-American Foundation is attributed to everyone’s hard work and support. “We are a charitable organization that started about 30 years ago. This year, I see new sponsors joining us for the first time. It’s about passing on the torch. Some contribute financially, some contribute physically, and many volunteers help out. There are also young people getting involved.”
This year, the Taiwan-American Foundation awarded scholarships to 10 recent high school graduates. The “Mao Jun Memorial Award” was presented to the San Diego branch of the Cerebral Palsy Association. The “Model Mother” award was given to You Sulyan.
Chen Shu-shen stated, “When we have the ability, we should contribute to society and strive for a better, more harmonious community. This is a collective aspiration, and we will continue to strengthen our efforts in this aspect in the future.”
The event was emceed by the young new director of the Taiwan-American Foundation, Huang Yu-wen, who is also the co-chair of the Taiwanese American Professionals San Diego Chapter.
Huang Yu-wen remarked that some young people who come to work and live in San Diego are not familiar with the Taiwan-American Foundation. She hopes to organize more engaging activities in the future to attract the interest of young individuals and “allow them to better understand our culture.”