Introducing Taiwan and Taiwanese Americans through Community Outreach and Networking
葉錦如特別演講會 ─王璨瑾(Corinne) 報導

10月 6日 (星期六) , 前休士頓台灣人傳統基金會會長葉錦如 presented us many activities the overseas Taiwanese Americans have done to introduce Taiwan and to promote Taiwanese Americans to American Society. Those activities including:

· Taiwanese Heritage Week activities
· Passport to Taiwan
· 7/4 Rose Parade
· Race for Cure
· Establishment of Taiwan Centers and many more …..

She presented what Taiwanese Heritage Society of Houston had been doing: the community outreach program

葉錦如女士 defines Community Outreach as the activities that bring services and information about the availability of services to people in their home or usual environments. She believes that Community Outreach is an effective way to educate others about us. It helps us to reach many diverse communities and enables us to become a recognized part of the community.

In Houston, various Community Outreach programs were carried out through Taiwanese Heritage Society of Houston (THSH), a non-profit organization established in 1989. It then acquired the Taiwanese Community Center (TCC) in 1991. In 2000, a new wing, with three rooms, was added to TCC with HUD’s (US Department of Housing and Urban Development) Construction Grant of around $300,000.

THSH’s Mission is to increase public understanding of Taiwanese heritage and culture, and to provide community services to the Houston Metropolitan Area.

HUD Regulations require that the recipients of its Construction Grants must:
· Provide in-house services to the diverse community for 5 years and
· 51% of clientele must be indigent

In the past, THSH has been providing services to Taiwanese Americans as well as the larger society. For example, THSH has been participating in the food drive sponsored by the Food Bank with $1,000 donation and loads of clothing since 15 years ago. THSH also raised fund to assist the victims of Hurricanes in Houston. However, these service records have not been well documented.

In Compliance with HUD’s regulations, and to fulfill THSH’s mission, THSH board created an outreach committee. Many outreach program activities were developed. The activities include:

· “Learning about Taiwan” Field trips to Taiwan Center, where visitors learn about traditional children’s play that is unique to Taiwanese youth, such as kick shutters (踢鍵子) and activities that are common among other cultures, such as Tops (陀螺), weaving (織布) and puppet shows (布袋戲).
· Services to Seniors and people with special needs, such as flu shots and exercise programs, and craft-making activities.
· Refugee Students Services, such as, co-sponsor “Back to School Celebration” event and School Uniform Donation to the refugee students at the Taiwanese community center.
· Community Scholarship Program – to neighboring High School College bound seniors who serve the community and achieve academically.
· Active Participation in Asian and main stream activities: for example: raising fund for the Asian house campaign.

In order to carry out the program activities, various program development strategies were deployed:

· Volunteer recruitment (including TC Youth)
· Outreach to neighborhood schools that have smaller Asian student body.
· Outreach to the daycare centers for students and the seniors.
· Partner with other organizations that provide indigent care.
· Conduct pilot programs – Brought YMCA teachers to Taiwan Center and made presentations to local elementary school teachers, etc.
· Made a presentation to the United Way.
An Evaluation of these programs was made after 5 years, to assess their results and effectiveness:
· It fulfilled the HUD requirements
· It increased our interactions with people from diverse cultural and social economical backgrounds
· It is self-sufficient
· It increased the visibility of the Taiwanese community: for example, THSH was, interviewed by local TV to introduce our organization, and the event was publicized in the Houston Chronicle...
· The year round program brought more than 4,000 non-Taiwanese Americans to TCC in the past 5 years

Finally, 葉錦如女士 brought up some of her thoughts to share as follows:
· Periodical assessment of our organization and its program activities, the availability of the human as well as financial resources.
· Create programs embracing commonly respect values, such as Multi-culturalism and humanity.
· Initiate program activities and invite other organizations to participate at the Taiwanese Community Center.
· Support other organizations and build partnerships.
· Expand our network by participating in non-Taiwanese groups’ activities.
· 2 minutes introduction of the organization.
· A TA national initiative (talent pool database) focus on increasing interactions with other culture groups.
· Everyone is an ambassador of Taiwan and Everyday is a Taiwanese Heritage Week.

Though THSH has completed the grant contract obligation in 2005, the organization continued to carry out its outreach activities to serve the larger society, and expand networking opportunities with other non profit organizations.