25th Anniversary of  T I W C

The year 1976/77 marks the 25th Anniversary of the Taipei International Women's Club and it is with pride and a sense of achievement that we can look back over those 25 years and see the progress the Club has made in that time.

The Club has grown from a very small beginning in the year 1951 when a group of women in the then much smaller foreign community here in Taipei, got together to form a club to bring together women of East and West to promote education, philanthropy, public welfare, moral values and fine arts. The early membership was very small with not many more than fifty members, and they worked to build the foundations of the Club we know today. Many of the founder members are still active within the Club today twenty-five years later; Dr. Lillian Chao, Cynthia Lee and Edna Lee, who later became President.

Today, the Taipei International Women's Cub has over 550 members from more than thirty nationalities and still holds to the principles laid down in 1951 of bringing together women from all walks of life and nationalities to work together for the good of the community. In these days of inflation and ever-rising prices, it is interesting to note that the membership dues have only risen from US$5,00 in 1951 to US$1O,OO in 1976; which is certainly not the rate of inflation we are used to seeing in this day and age!

The TIWC has many ways of fostering interchange between the members of the Club and promoting fellowship and cultural appreciation. There are language teas which are held every month to which members wishing to converse in their native language or practice a foreign language are welcomed. These teas are held in German, French, Spanish, English, Japanese and Chinese and are thoroughly enjoyed by all participants.

Also each month there is a Fact finders lunch at which a member of the foreign community in Taipei gives a talk on their homeland. These talks are often accompanied by slideshows and are extremely popular. There have been talks in recent months about Israel, Guam, England Australia and so on, and for a small price, a lunch and information on the rest of the world makes a good bargain. Factfinders is held on the last Friday of each month at the MAAG Officers Club.

Also at the General Meetings we are most happy to receive applications from new members. After the membership application has been received, the prospective members receive an invitation to the New Members tea which is held in the home of one of our members and where they are introduced to the Board members and to other new members, so that when they do join and take part in the various activities they won't feel too much like new girls'.

Probably the best method of keeping in touch with the activities and business of the Club is through the monthly Bulletin which gives full details of the classes, teas, meetings which are held during the month.

A great deal of time and effort is spent each year on fund-raising activities which have ranged over the years from International Bazaars to Chinese operas which Western members trying to perform in this ancient Chinese cultural pursuit.

The profits from these activities are used by the Social Services Committee to further the efforts of the Taipei International Women's Club to help the poor and needy of Taipei and those less fortunate than ourselves. The scope of this help is enormous and in our Silver Anniversary year we have helped many deserving cases.

Included in these cases were the following. NTiHo,000.00 was donated to the Scoliosis fund in Pingtung for corrective surgery. This is a terrible disease which cripples children and the cost of surgery is extremely high and this donation will help to alleviate the financial problem faced by the fund.

This year also TIWC donated a desperately-needed croupette tent to the Taipei Medical Centre; a second-hand fridge to the Bethany orphanage and books for their library.

Individuals have also been helped. A wheel-chair was supplied to a 12 year old crippled girl, an amah paid for to look after a 3 year old blind boy. Glasses were provided for two albino children with sight problems and school uniforms, ballet shoes and books were provided for orphanages to ensure that the children have at least a chance to enjoy some of the advantages of other children.

Musical instruments have also been donated and anyone who listened to the orchestra from the Blind School during their performance at the April 1977 General Meeting will agree that they are of inestimable worth.

June Clark and her committee also provided a long-awaited picnic for twenty five old people from the Tamsui Old Age Home. A bus took the party to the Yangmingshan Park and box lunches were provided. Some of these old folks had not left the home for over five years and their gratitude and expressions of enjoyment were a joy to behold.

June Clark and her committee deserve a vote of thanks and appreciation for all the hard work they have put in during this year. It would be difficult to gauge satisfactorily the good that they have been able to do over the year.

The fund-raising activities for. the year have reflected the Silver Anniversary idea. The theme for this very special year was Peace and Unity and this was symbolized on 28th September 1976 when the General Meeting of this Club was held on the exact day that marked the beginning of the club 25 years before. Each member was presented with a small jade apple; the apple being one of the Chinese symbols of Peace. At this tea many of the former presidents were present and there was, of course, a birthday cake.

On 3rd December 1976, a highly successful Silver Anniversary Ball was held at the MAAG Officers Club and was well-attended by members and their guests. An excellent dinner was served and the guests enjoyed an excellent cabaret and dancing. A special note of thanks here to Mrs. John Ch-en and her very hardworking committee for making this evening a really great success. The ball made a profit of over NT$120,OOO.OO which was used for Social Service activities. A note of thanks here also to all those in the community at large who gave prizes for the raffle or donations} without their generosity it would be impossible to carry on these fund-raising activities and raise the money which enables TIWC to help those in the community who are less fortunate than ourselves.

At Chinese New Year, the Chinese members gave a truly superb luncheon at the Mandarin Hotel, in celebration of that very important holiday. An international costume show was also staged with members modelling national costumes from all over the world and performing national dances. A raffle was also held which was most successful. A word of thanks to our Chinese members for their hospitality and a special thank you to Margaret Lee and her committee who worked so hard to give us all such a marvellous time.

The final fund-raising activity of our Silver Anniversary year was held at the MAAG Annex on Saturday l6th April, 1977J a Las Vegas Nite. The turnout for this evening was a little disappointing but many members and friends did take a chance and enjoyed a game at the blackjack tables and the roulette wheel. Again a word of thanks to those who donated prizes and to Gay Manchester and her committee who worked extremely hard to make this evening a success. The profit from this evening was about US$1,200.00.

The profits from these evenings and from the sale of the very successful TIWC Cookbook, the sale of surplus jade apples, membership fees, sale of TIWC charms and so on have enabled TIWC to provide a very enjoyable General Meeting each month for the membership and to provide help for many of the Taipei Community who would otherwise not have been able to help themselves.

1976, our Silver Anniversary year, also saw the culmination of almost three years work by the TIWC. This was the realization of the TIWC Education Foundation which was first proposed during the year 197V75 in the presidency of Odette Hsu and worked on until finally it was set up formally in 1976/77. The TIWC has set aside NT&1.5 million to set up scholarships for young students in Taipei who would otherwise not be able financially, or through physical handicap to aspire to the higher education which would fit them to take their rightful place in society.

A Board has been set up to administer this Foundation consisting of TIWC members and members of the Taipei community at large. It will function independently of the Taipei International Women's Club and it is hoped that the Foundation will be able to help many young people in Taipei to a brighter future.

This then was the Silver Anniversary year of the TIWC and the Club now goes forward into its second quarter century. What the future holds is unknown; but it is hoped that the Taipei International Women's Club will continue to grow, to diversify and to provide a common meeting point for women of all races and creeds from which they can work together to foster a greater understanding and unity between peoples.