History of Zonta Club of Taipei Shin

Founded in September 1991, International Zonta Club of Taipei Shin is the fourth branch in Taipei. Mrs. Shu-chan W. Ho who served as the Second District Supervisor of Zonta International District 26 was responsible for the overall planning of this new Club. She assisted Zheng Li-li, Tung Qi, and Cheng Wen-jin on the organizational details. They invited 20 friends to be the first members and elected Liu Jia-ling as the first President. At inception, Zhang Zi-yu, Zan Rong, Tang Ji-ming, Huang Qiu-ji, and Su Yi of the Nanny Club(?), Taipei Third Branch, offered valuable guidance that helped the club lay a solid foundation.

As the fourth branch in Taipei, the members jointly decided at the first meeting to adopt the name "Taipei Shin", meaning thriving and joyful . Taipei Shin also invited a famous composer Ms. Wang Li-ling and a lyricist Ms. Ye Wei-xin to write the "Taipei Shin Club Song", which has since been sung by members standing before every gathering. Other than the first two presidents that served a two-year term, the presidents thereafter all served a term of one year.

Members and guests of Taipei Shin gathered together and celebrated its twentieth anniversary in January 2011. Fruitful results have been achieved through the social services provided since inception, including the six major accomplishments below:
1. Fundraising: Fund raised for building the Mennonite Christian Hospital and Mennonite Good Shepherd Taiwan.

2. Conduction of seminars/activities: Promoted CPR first aid knowledge, anti-drug activities, campus lecture tours, etc.

3. Donations for relief/reconstruction: Engaged in post-disaster psychological counseling, helped students form disaster areas to go to school following the earthquake that struck on September 21st, and engaged in post-disaster relief following the earthquake that hit Japan.

4. Youth care: Invited children from poor families for free movie watching and performances held in National Concert Hall; offered long-term companionship to those involved in the "Hand-in-Hand" activities organized by the student club "Creative Knowledge Network", National Chengchi University.

5. Cooperation with NGO: Engaged in long-term cooperation with the Garden of Hope Foundation to sponsor and participate in events such as V-day, domestic violence forums, U.N. NGO CEDAW project writing, charity sale of "Resource Sharing Center", vocational training for battered women seeking employment, and so on.

6. Charity: Donations were solicited for Bethesda Home for Handicapped, First Social Welfare Foundation for building first homes, etc.

Stepping onto its 22nd year, Taipei Shin’s 35 members shall continue to render dedicated community service, visit Taiwan Mennonite New Dawn Educare Center and solicit donations on its behalf and offer scholarships to outstanding young female students for overseas study opportunities. This year, a special project is been carried out in support of the Asian Girl Human Rights Campaign organized by the Garden of Hope Foundation. Taipei Shin is fully committed in achieving Zonta International’s goals through action, strive to improve the status of women, and contribute positively to the promotion of fairness and justice!