EPISTAR conducts public welfare activities along four main axes, and the Employee Relations Department organizes an abundant and diverse series of volunteer activities for Group employees under the motto of “Social influence begins from your own personal actions.”

 

One Pencil, One Smile ─ The importance of companionship:
[Northern Taiwan] Study Companions for Children × HsinChu I-Link Community Care Association

The HsinChu I-Link Community Care Association has established Green Light Seed Classrooms at three locations in Xinpu, Erchong, and Chudong. These classrooms provide free after-school study companionship for primary and junior high school students from special-needs families in their respective school districts, in order to mitigate the impact of urban-rural disparities on education levels. Volunteers serve as after-school teachers, and instruct younger children in their lessons, or play board games with them. The Association also organizes school trips on occasion to enhance the life experiences of their students, and promote learning, development, and social interaction through extracurricular activities.

 

One Cellphone, One Crow’s Foot ─ Happiness can be so easy:
[Central Taiwan] Cellphone Volunteer Instructors × Taiwan Community University Teacher’s Association

EPISTAR works with the Taiwan Community University Teacher’s Association to assist elders aged 55 years or older, helping them learn how to operate image editing mobile apps. From taking photos to removing backgrounds, volunteers help these elders independently create an edited image using only their cellphones. As elders learn more slowly and are unfamiliar with the user interfaces of their mobile phones, assistance from volunteers enables them to learn new skills in recording their lives, opening the door to a new lifestyle.

 

One Dog, One Food Box ─ The inner face of resource appeals:
[Southern Taiwan] Animal Welfare Volunteers × TNR.Animal

The shifting pandemic has impacted the overall environment, affecting not only disadvantaged groups, but also stray animal shelters, which face deficits in food and manpower. EPISTAR and the longstanding TNR. Animal association in Tainan collaborated to organize donated cash and goods from the public. As most donations are in the form of new household goods, the association holds weekend charity bazaars and streaming sales to turn these goods into cash which is used for medical and rescue expenses for the animals under their care.

 

One Piece of Paper, One Pair of Scissors ─ Giving gifts that resonate:
Elder Care × Huashan Social Welfare Foundation Lucky Doll Origami Well-wishing Activity × N6, N9

Huashan Social Welfare Foundation recently invested a lot of resources in three types of disadvantaged elderly groups: the disabled, the kinless, and the demented. The Foundation is also entering communities to provide at-home care. During the Lunar New Year holidays, the Foundation arranged festive dinner deliveries and Lucky Doll Origami Well-wishing Activities to ensure that disadvantaged elders can share in the holiday atmosphere. EPISTAR collaborated with the Huashan Social Welfare Foundation on the Lucky Doll Origami Well-Wishing Activity, thereby reducing manpower needs for the Foundation and allowing them to allocate resources to other care services. The making of paper lucky dolls not only requires time, but also tests the nimbleness of volunteer fingers. Despite these challenges, the participating employees were able to transmit their warmest wishes through the cutting and folding of paper, and looked forward to spreading love and kindness beyond boundaries through this activity.

 

One Bag, One Group of Partners ─Environmental protection with you, me, and them

As the pandemic waned in the second half of 2022, EPISTAR arranged two beach cleanup activities, one at Nanliao Port in Hsinchu on November 28, and one at Yuguang Island in Tainan on December 13. The activities were combined with an inter-departmental contest, in which the ranking was determined by the amount of trash collected within a set period of time. Cash prizes were awarded according to the rankings, and a special “Most Creative Trash Award” was also established so participants could indulge their imaginations when picking up trash. For this activity, 106 people participated in the Northern Taiwan event and 51 people attended the Southern Taiwan event, making an overall participation rate of 75%. Altogether, 1,157 kilograms of trash was collected, an average of 7.4 kg per person. The top team for Northern Taiwan collected 143 kg of trash between 4 members, and the top team for Southern Taiwan collected 108 kg of trash between 4 members. Apart from the Yuguang Island beach cleanup event, EPISTAR also collaborated with the Miaoli County Government Social Affairs Department and Volunteer Service Promotion Center to organize an environmental protection and beach cleanup event entitled, “Hundred-Person Beach Cleanup with EPISTAR.” The event included hands-on activities and local tours. This event was also open to foreign workers at the Group, and shuttle buses and professional translators were hired for the event to allow foreign workers to get a better understanding of Taiwan and promote cultural exchanges.