This is in addition to the Gift & Necessities Drive for families and children as we hope those who participate as recipients in the drive can also feel that the holidays are about spending time together over a cup of hot cocoa and not simply about receiving gifts. Like last year we will introduce several local NGOs and children will be able to vote on who they want to donate $1000 NT towards to pass the love on.

Workshops are generally a full day so we must provide hot nutritious food for children, which we are more than happy to do. Plant-based creations are made along with light snacks and a cup of hot cocoa. Kids will also have a hand in making their own vegan sweets such as decorating gingerbread people, oatmeal raisin cookies, or caramel apple slices. With each workshop and each year we are aiming to provide even high quality ingredients for meals. This year in ChingChuan we will also aim decorate gingerbread with all the children at the school (approximate 90)!

Families and children that are part of the yearly gift & necessities drive will obtain much needed items for their household in addition to the creation workshop session in January. For each family we estimate a cost of approximately $200 USD (5,000-6,000NTD), this has included items such as organic local foods, fresh fruits, blankets, warm clothes, shoes, and a small gift for children.

• Delivery is to individual families as we work with TaoShan Elementary School and the local church for the recipient list.
• Approximately 60-70% of the budget will be purchasing non-perishable plant-based foods
• Last year we worked with Buy Directly From Farmers直接跟農夫買社 and this year will outreach to more local farmers and vegan business from Bow to Land Farmer’s Market
• This year we are sourcing local organic rice from YuanLi farmers from 苑裡掀海風 and fresh made and jarred items from local vegan stores
• We have sourced pesticide free oats from RUNIVORE who has been a solid partner and supporter of Bright Side Projects endeavors.

People like the idea of convenience – but getting items to where those who may benefit from the resources is not always about that. Our core group is based in Taipei and we have on-site locals in each of the locations. But with many of our talents and resources prepped at our base, we need to sort and get them out.

From Taipei to–>

Taoyuan: by public transport 2 hours each way / by personal vehicle 45 minutes each way
ChingChuan: by public transport 4 hours each way / by personal vehicle 2.5 hours each way
Taitung: by public transport 4.5 hours each way / by personal vehicle 7 hours each way
Orchid Island: by public transport 9 hours each way / by personal transport 12 hours each way (ferry is 3.5 hours, flight is 20 minutes)

Just for Orchid Island the cost for the ferry is approximately $72 USD, airfare $90 USD. For team of six costs approximately $500. Driving down will be about $155 per vehicle with gasoline and tolls – but split into two cars as we also pack equipment and different time schedules. In addition there are 1-2 people who will take the train down. They are taking 8 days off work and will be receiving no pay for their participation in this event.

If we add in the drives out to Taoyuan and twice to ChingChuan with 2-3 cars each time gasoline and toll fees, logistics of purchasing and gathering items before the event, $1,200 is a very conservative budget that might not cover what we need to the full extent but we would really appreciate your support on this.

Our core group that will be heading to the locations include Daisy Lin, Rhea Chou, Joanna Chou, Haichen Hsu, Starry 又又， JiaChi 嘉琪， In each location we hope to open up workshops to local community and will conduct a BSP Training session beforehand. Public registration to the events will be available for all locations – keep posted and join us now!