Volunteering/Donation project (music related)

[by002007]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to be arriving in Taipei in September to do my master's at TNUA. My program is being funded by something called Rotary, which is an international organization that places a heavy emphasis on volunteer/community work. As part of my scholarship, it's expected that I'll be really involved in community service while I'm in Taiwan. Since I'm a musician, I'm hoping to start a project in which I collect instruments from local community members/schools, redistribute or loan them to children from the surrounding area who may lack the resources to study music, and recruit fellow students/Rotary/community members to donate approximately one hour per week giving the students free lessons.

My main concern is that this project won't be possible because of Taiwan's restrictions on foreigners volunteering. Do any of you with more experience in the matter have any ideas of how I could make this work/what I need to keep in mind while I'm trying to do it? And, if you or anyone you know would be interested in donating an instrument or volunteering, please do get in touch with me. It seems that I may have to rely primarily on Rotary members since they are all Taiwanese and don't have these restrictions, but it would be great to get the foreign community involved if possible. Are there any other message boards related to volunteering in Taiwan that I could put this on?

I've left out a lot of details to prevent this post from becoming too long, so feel free to ask questions if you're interested in the project. I realize it's a bit ambitious, but this is something I'm really interested in doing, so I'm hoping I can make it work. Thanks!

-Ben

[Jialin]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to be arriving in Taipei in September to do my master's at TNUA. My program is being funded by something called Rotary, which is an international organization that places a heavy emphasis on volunteer/community work. As part of my scholarship, it's expected that I'll be really involved in community service while I'm in Taiwan. Since I'm a musician, I'm hoping to start a project in which I collect instruments from local community members/schools, redistribute or loan them to children from the surrounding area who may lack the resources to study music, and recruit fellow students/Rotary/community members to donate approximately one hour per week giving the students free lessons.

My main concern is that this project won't be possible because of Taiwan's restrictions on foreigners volunteering. Do any of you with more experience in the matter have any ideas of how I could make this work/what I need to keep in mind while I'm trying to do it? And, if you or anyone you know would be interested in donating an instrument or volunteering, please do get in touch with me. It seems that I may have to rely primarily on Rotary members since they are all Taiwanese and don't have these restrictions, but it would be great to get the foreign community involved if possible. Are there any other message boards related to volunteering in Taiwan that I could put this on?

I've left out a lot of details to prevent this post from becoming too long, so feel free to ask questions if you're interested in the project. I realize it's a bit ambitious, but this is something I'm really interested in doing, so I'm hoping I can make it work. Thanks!

-Ben

Hi Ben! I'd be really interested in volunteering! Either in whatever way possible and/or to help teach. I play guitar and oboe (although I'm guessing there will not be high demand for oboe) ...And I speak fluent Chinese if that is of any benefit... Please message me! The project sounds like a great idea.

As for legal stuff, I'm not sure...If you kept it on the DL it might be okay? The important thing is that nobody have proof that you are doing it. So you might want to use an alias with things online...or completely avoid using the internet (which is hard and makes this difficult)... Any other ideas from other people on forumosa!?

[cfimages]

Mod's Note - any suggestions for anything illegal in regard to volunteering will be removed.

[asiababy]

Hi,

Rotary sponsor my children's elementary school's rock band. They supplied all the instruments and provide teachers to come in for 90 minutes each week. We have quite a percentage number of kids who don't get these privileges through home. (They are actually doing quite well!) So, you should be able to ask around at your Rotary group and see if there is anything like this happening already in the area you are staying. Also, shouldn't Rotary be able to get you the permit you need to volunteer? If you won't be actually connected to a Rotary group when you first arrive in Taiwan and want to work through them, send me a PM and I can put you in touch with a couple of people who could help you find the right Rotary group.

[by002007]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to be arriving in Taipei in September to do my master's at TNUA. My program is being funded by something called Rotary, which is an international organization that places a heavy emphasis on volunteer/community work. As part of my scholarship, it's expected that I'll be really involved in community service while I'm in Taiwan. Since I'm a musician, I'm hoping to start a project in which I collect instruments from local community members/schools, redistribute or loan them to children from the surrounding area who may lack the resources to study music, and recruit fellow students/Rotary/community members to donate approximately one hour per week giving the students free lessons.

My main concern is that this project won't be possible because of Taiwan's restrictions on foreigners volunteering. Do any of you with more experience in the matter have any ideas of how I could make this work/what I need to keep in mind while I'm trying to do it? And, if you or anyone you know would be interested in donating an instrument or volunteering, please do get in touch with me. It seems that I may have to rely primarily on Rotary members since they are all Taiwanese and don't have these restrictions, but it would be great to get the foreign community involved if possible. Are there any other message boards related to volunteering in Taiwan that I could put this on?

I've left out a lot of details to prevent this post from becoming too long, so feel free to ask questions if you're interested in the project. I realize it's a bit ambitious, but this is something I'm really interested in doing, so I'm hoping I can make it work. Thanks!

-Ben

Hi Ben! I'd be really interested in volunteering! Either in whatever way possible and/or to help teach. I play guitar and oboe (although I'm guessing there will not be high demand for oboe) ...And I speak fluent Chinese if that is of any benefit... Please message me! The project sounds like a great idea.

As for legal stuff, I'm not sure...If you kept it on the DL it might be okay? The important thing is that nobody have proof that you are doing it. So you might want to use an alias with things online...or completely avoid using the internet (which is hard and makes this difficult)... Any other ideas from other people on forumosa!?

Hey,

Thanks for your interest! I think it's going to take a bit of time to get things off the ground in regards to any relevant permits/finding teachers and students, etc, so I'm not sure exactly when the project itself would start. I will definitely keep you in the loop though. How long are you planning on being in Taipei? I have heard of similar projects being done in the past, and I think that students are generally happy to try out any instrument, so oboe should definitely be usable. Speaking Chinese is a huge benefit, because I think that lessons will have to be run entirely in Chinese unless the students speak English really well.

In regards to legal issues, I'm afraid it's impossible to keep on the DL, 1. because I need to show proof of my project to Rotary and 2. because ideally, I'd love to do an end of semester/end of year concert where the students all play something they've been working on, and this would necessitate renting out a public venue. If you want, you can PM me your email address, and I'll make sure to keep you updated as I'm trying to get the project off the ground.

Cheers,

Ben

[by002007]

Hi,

Rotary sponsor my children's elementary school's rock band. They supplied all the instruments and provide teachers to come in for 90 minutes each week. We have quite a percentage number of kids who don't get these privileges through home. (They are actually doing quite well!) So, you should be able to ask around at your Rotary group and see if there is anything like this happening already in the area you are staying. Also, shouldn't Rotary be able to get you the permit you need to volunteer? If you won't be actually connected to a Rotary group when you first arrive in Taiwan and want to work through them, send me a PM and I can put you in touch with a couple of people who could help you find the right Rotary group.

Hi Asiababy,

Thanks for your response, that's really useful information. It's good to know that it's possible to do projects like these in Taiwan. Would you mind telling me which Rotary group that is and where it's located? I think I'll try contacting them directly before I arrive. Otherwise, it's likely that people from my host club will know people from that club since Rotary is a pretty tight-knit group, so they should be able to set up a meeting for me. I haven't asked my sponsor about permits yet, but I have a feeling they should be able to do something since there are Rotary scholars in Taiwan every year, and I don't think they'd be sending people over if people couldn't do volunteer work while they're there. If it ends up not being possible to start my own project, maybe I can join up with this this existing one and help them expand it or something like that. Thanks!

Ben