WECARE News
2020 News Letter
各位维幼的朋友们： 大家好，2020年注定了是不寻常的一年，尽管疫情肆虐，打乱了人们的正常生活与出行，但是，我们的初心没有乱，没有变。维幼2020的计划在克服了种种困难后，如以往一样，在国内的义工们的帮助下、于2020年11月18号-29号顺利的完成今年的奖学金发放计划。 由于是疫情期间，整个过程颇具“戏剧性”，完全出乎我们的预料，在这里简单的给大家介绍一下： 由于疫情下的国际航班有诸多不确定性，经过反复考虑，维幼决定今年的奖学金发放由青岛的两名热心志愿者代表维幼为山东沂南，兰陵和安徽绩溪的395 名受助学生们手对手的发放奖学金。其中一位志愿者在2018 年已与我一起去过四川的三个地区并经历了整个奖学金发放过程。在各项准备工作就绪，青岛大学审计处的退休工程师李铭女士 与青岛市建委退休工程师蓝淑女士一同前往了奖学金颁发地区。 当绩溪教育局听说有人来发放奖学金时，当地的卫生健康委员会要求志愿者们先到当地隔离4-5天。在确认没有病毒感染后、再进行奖学金发放。这是由于青岛早在今年10月出现过3 例无症状感染者，尽管全市逾千万市民都得到了免费核酸检测，全国各地都对出行人士加强了隔离与疫情管理。 借此，我们又经过反复商讨后决定：绩溪的发放工作就有维幼在绩溪当地的志愿者郑秀华老师来负责。郑老师是绩溪教育局的退休老师。最终，三位义工圆满完成了今年的奖学金发放工作和家访的工作。 今年维幼董事会决定从今往后增加“维幼爱心书架”项目。即2021年起，维幼基金会计划在所有受助学校里将选出三所学校，由维幼基金会为受助学校丰富图书资源。由于这是第一次实施，每所学校计划购书金额大约一万元人民币。书籍的种类包含天文、地理、科技、文学、等各类有益于帮助1-6 年级的学生们。这些图书将作为课外读物开拓他们的视野。待第一年计划实施完成后，第二年我们将会再选三所学校，逐步的让更多的孩子们切身感受到“维幼”这个大家庭对他们无私的关爱。 维幼已经开始奔三了，真正第三个10年，维幼能走到今天完全是靠大家无私的爱心付出与支持、得以让贫困地区的孩子们在手对手、把大家的爱❤️接到了他们自己的手中。您的这份爱心铸就了维幼对关爱儿童事业的信心。 感谢各位的付出，真诚的希望您一如既往的关注着维幼。我们会把所有的捐助用在每一个真正需要帮助的孩子们。 在此恭祝大家圣诞快乐。2021年心想事成。
2019 News Letter
Our annual letter is now available for your review. You may access directly to the attachment in this e-mail or you may view it via the google drive link here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OtdXHFdm7sy1oFONA7IxatsB9kUyZVRJ/view?usp=sharing
As always, WECARE appreciates your continued support to help our future generations with a brighter future. Going forward, WECARE will continue its tradition to help more children in need in the coming year. With more creative ways, your contribution will make a critical difference. Let's carry on making a positive impact for 2020!
2019 board meeting
WECARE Board of Directors Annual Meeting, September 19, 2019 took place on September 19, 2019. Some highlights are:
During the recent board meeting I announced my long delayed intention to step down from the chairman post. The succession planning started a few years ago and has been successful in recruiting a few younger board members who are capable and very caring to keep WECARE going for years to come. I shall stay as a board member to continue my effort in helping the rural children in China, albeit at a reduced capacity. Li Shan (李珊) was elected unanimously to head WECARE’s board effective immediately.
Li Shan used to be a super table tennis player and was one of the key members of the Shandong Table Tennis Team. After the active playing career she joined the teaching staff as a professor of physical education at Shandong University in Qingdao. In the late 90’s she participated in Evelyn’s charitable activities in Qingdao together with other expats’ wives from different countries. Since the beginning of WECARE in 2000 she has been one of the local volunteers coordinating our activities in Shandong province. Li Shan then joined WECARE Board in 2008 and since visited all the schools where WECARE is involved by herself or together with Evelyn and I. She has been a staunch supporter and believer in what we are doing for the children. Please join me to congratulate her and support her in the new responsibility to better WECARE ‘s program for the future.
2016 News Letter
In 2016 we awarded 869 scholarships including 63 for high school students in 23 schools. Bill and Dee Chen went to schools in Hefei and Cheng Cheng. Evelyn and I went to Chengdu and took care of the schools in Pengan and Qionglai. Li Shan and Zhang Ailing then joined us to visit all the schools in Shandong including the new addition in Lanling (兰陵). Evelyn and I continued southward to another new city JiXI (绩溪) to conclude the journey.
Bill and Dee Chen visited Cheng Cheng High School in Cheng Cheng, Shaanxi (澄城陕西) in September 2016. They came across a brilliant WECARE student Wang Hai Lon (王海龙) who has been legally blind and yet stood scholastically on top of his class. His family inquired about possibility of receiving some help from WECARE. We occasionally encounter this type of requests outside of the scope of WECARE program. Bill has since purchased an up to date magnifier for him to help his vision. Any further assistance to him, if identified, can be handled on a case to case basis with our personal resources.
In response to the rapidly improving economic conditions in China, both in the cities and rural areas, WECARE decided four years ago to stepwise phase out two schools where poverty are less pronounced. It is important to recognize the evolving situation in China and redeploy our limited fund to regions with more concentration of population classified by the government as Di Bao Hu(低保户). During our October visits students in Hefei, Anhui (安徽合肥) and Guxian Shandong (山东古岘) received their last awards while Jixi, Anhui (安徽绩溪) and Lanling, Shandong (山东兰陵) were added to WECARE scholarship program.
In search of additional Di Bao Hu rich locations we stopped in two schools in Jialing District of Nanchong Sichuan (四川南充嘉陵区) to survey the situation. Both of them are in the mountain region with quite inferior economic conditions comparing to some of the regions WECARE are serving. It is close to Pengan where we have been active over the last ten years and has the benefit of easy maintenance. The board decided to initiate an award program starting 2017.
WECARE has initiated a program to support (亲爱爱乐) a charity in Nantou Taiwan where aboriginal single parent children are given music instrument education to supplement their normal school curriculum . We are in the second year of a three-year donation program totaling $9000.
WECARE introduced a US teacher Judith Harris to Yishui #2 High School (沂水第二高中) to conduct a one-week seminar to acquaint students and English teachers on how a typical US classroom teaching is conducted including the interactive way of communication between teacher and students. Principal Gao’s comment to us “It was a resounding success!”
2016 board meeting
WECARE Board of Directors Annual Meeting, November 1, 2016 took place on November 1, 2016. Some highlights are:
1) Laurence Loh, president and chairman of the board of directors, opened the meeting at 4:20 p.m. and welcomed visitors Bob and Judy Wang.
2) Financial report: Dori presented the preliminary Treasurer’s Report for 2016, attached. U.S. donations to WECARE total about $46,000 so far this year, vs. $45,500 for the full year 2015; more donations are expected in November and December. Grants totaled $3,000 to Taiwan and $46,182 to students in China. Administrative expenses in 2016 totaled only $180.
3) School visits in 2017:
Bill & Dee Chen visited schools in Hefei and ChengCheng. This is the last year WECARE will support students in Hefei, where living standards have risen so that there are very few students who appear to be poor. At Chengcheng High School, they focused on providing psychological support to students, who are under great pressure due to the college entrance exam, gaokao.
In Qingdao, the school in Guxian now has higher living standards, so WECARE is phasing out scholarships there. A few years ago, this area was poverty stricken, but now many farmers raise such cash crops as kiwi and tobacco.
In Sichuan, the program is going well in Peng’an but officials are not cooperating well in Qionglai. The poorest school is Taihe, but Laurence and Evelyn were not allowed to visit it.
Laurence and Evelyn visited two new locations where WECARE added scholarships this year. One is Lanling in Shandong near Jiangsu border (hometown of board member Li Shan) and the other is Jixi in Anhui province, hometown of new board member Allen Rui. WECARE gave scholarships to 50 and 55 students in these two areas. The plan is to continuing giving at this level at these two schools.
In Sichuan, Laurence and Evelyn also visited two schools in Jialing, a poor mountainous district outside Nanchong, on the way back from Peng’an. They saw many orphans and “left behind” children and the need is great. Laurence proposed WECARE give scholarships to up to 100 children in this district.
4) The board discussed an earlier plan to support American teachers going to China to help train teachers there. We did this once, supporting a teacher who spent a week at YiShui High School #2 in March 2016. However, WECARE will not actively follow up with this program, at least for now.
5) 2017 scholarship plan. Laurence presented the attached plan. Its changes include a reduction to 0 of scholarships to Guxian and Hefei, as discussed, and the proposed addition of 100 scholarships for students in Jialing district, Nanchong. Bottom line: an increase from 869 to 899 students, rising from RMB 304,800 to 313,800.
The board approved a proposal to add up to 100 students in Jialing, Nanchong, and also to raise
the per-student annual award (for elementary students) from RMB300 to RMB400 in 2017.
WECARE will also give $3,000 to the aboriginal music students in Taiwan we funded in 2015 and 2016. 2017 is the final year of our three-year commitment.
6) Allen Rui and Derek Zhou agreed to join the board of WECARE for 2017. The board approved their appointment as board members.
2015 board meeting
WECARE Annual Board of Director Meeting for 2015 took place on November 8, 2015. Some highlights are:
Opening remarks: Laurence explained the history and mission of WECARE to our visitors Alice Yeh, Allen Rui, Derek Zhou, Michelle Yeh. The idea began in 1996, when Laurence was opening a research institute in Qingdao and Evelyn was looking for ways to help Chinese people from poor regions. When Laurence retired in 1999, he and his North Carolina friend and classmate formally applied for nonprofit status with the IRS for Wei-Eu Chinese American Resources for Education (WECARE). The basic principle is that WECARE gives scholarships directly to students, with no intermediaries, and nearly 100% of contributions go straight to students, with no salaries, no reimbursed travel, and minimal expenses. Donors visit China at their own expense to deliver scholarship money to students in person. This year, we have had donations from 27 people; last year 40-50 people donated. Most of our fundraising comes from three e-mail newsletters/year. We need help with fundraising and updating our website.
Agnes explained about our decision last year to donate $3,000/year for three years to two teachers in Taiwan who teach music to aboriginal students in poor areas. She personally delivered the first donation in January 2015.
Dori presented the preliminary Treasurer’s Report for 2015. Donations to WECARE total nearly $30,000 so far this year, vs. $51,588 for the full year 2014, but more donations are expected in November and December. Average donations are roughly $1,000 per donor. Grants totaled $3,000 to Taiwan and $41,743.30 to students in China.
Our visitors suggested creating a WECARE Facebook page and an easy way to donate online, using Paypal or credit card, as well as use of an online fundraising site similar to Kiva. Allen Rui made suggestions for getting the word out about WECARE to Chinese who work for Microsoft and ensuring matching funds. His home village in Anhui is in a poor mountainous area, and there may be students there who need help from WECARE. Derek Zhou reported how his father and some friends in Shenzhen have supported a poor Tibetan village in Qinghai. Both expressed enthusiasm for WECARE and promised to research ways that they can help WECARE, although they are not ready to become board members.
Noting that some of the schools we supported in the past are now in areas with better roads and more opportunities, the board voted to discontinue scholarships to college students (totaling CNY 15,000), to free up funds for younger students in other, poorer locations, possibly including Anhui or Qinghai. We will continue phasing out scholarships in Hefei. Board member Li Shan has agreed to check out poor villages near Qingdao. Allen will check with a friend in Shandong and his former teacher, now an education official in Anhui. Derek will check with his father to see if we might help the program in Qinghai.