St. Lucy's Bazaar - Community Services Center

charity
St. Lucy’s Bazaar:
Ten years of
changing lives
A fundraiser for a baby home in Tainan that began in
2001 has snowballed into an annual Taipei shopping
highlight and helped transform the lives of many children.
Here’s how it has evolved, and how you can help.
Victoria Bunao Olsen (center) has been selling her
wildly-popular jewelry, bags and accessories since
the first Bazaar ten years ago
TexT: suniTa sue leng
images: Jeannine BaraTi, sT lucy
cenTer, naomi masina PhoTograPhy,
Bruner family
He who can reach a child’s heart
can reach the world’s heart
– Rudyard Kipling
Siew Kang is marveling at how a
fundraiser she and her friends put
together ten years ago has taken on
a life of its very own. Alongside
founding members Laura Trinnaman
and Carol Silvestri, she was part of
the crew that started the St. Lucy’s
Bazaar in 2001. Fast-forward ten
years and this energetic lady with
a sunny disposition is still hard at
work, spearheading yet another
fundraiser for the St. Lucy Center,
a home in Tainan for babies and
children whose families are unable to
care for them.
“The Bazaar has become a bridge
that helps people do something very
meaningful together,” says Siew. “It
brings out the best in people.” For
instance, staff of the American Club,
where the Bazaar is held every year,
have gone out of their way to make
sure it runs smoothly, often going
beyond the call of duty.
“I’m so thrilled that this amazing
legacy has continued,” says Laura
Trinnaman via email from the US.
Laura was living in Taipei in 2001,
with five young children, when friends
asked if she would help the St. Lucy
Center get humanitarian aid. Laura
was chosen because she had adopted
children of her own and had years of
experience in adoption education.
The home is in the southern city
of Tainan and dates back to some
thirty years ago when a group of
Catholic nuns set up a sanctuary for
unmarried mothers and their babies.
Over time, it also took in children
of families who were unable to care
for them. Laura soon recognized the
opportunity to place some of these
babies with families in the US. And
so, a Taiwan adoption program was
born which has since evolved into
For Every Child Adoption Services,
based in Utah.
Laura, Siew and a group of
dedicated ladies rolled out the very
first St. Lucy’s Bazaar in 2002. With
support from the American Club, the
More on St. Lucy’s
What is the St. Lucy Center
St. Lucy’s provides assistance to birth families who are unable
physically, emotionally or financially to care for their children. It was
established about thirty years ago and is run by The Good Shepherd
Social Welfare Services Foundation today.
How big is the baby home
The nursery has 45 beds and fourteen full-time caregivers on three
rotations a day. In total, staff strength is 22, including administrative
staff, nursing staff and social workers. There were also 157 volunteers
on the register as at the end of 2010.
How many babies does it help
St. Lucy’s cares for approximately one hundred babies each year.
Having been around for three decades, that makes for a lot of babies
over the years!
How is St. Lucy’s funded
The Catholic Church licenses and sponsors the St. Lucy Center. The
home also receives a small amount of financial support from the local
government. Outside of this, it relies on donations.
How do you help by shopping at the Bazaar
Funds raised from the Bazaar go towards expenses such as medical
bills including vaccinations, as well as childcare items such as
diapers, clothing, developmental toys, and milk formula.
18 OCTOBer 2011 www.communitycenter.org.tw

St. Lucy Journeys
Here’s how four St. Lucy babies
turned out
Some members of the St. Lucy committee
2011
Bazaar kicked off with fifteen
vendors selling mostly jewelry
and gifts, perfectly timed for the
Christmas season.
It was hands-down a success
and the Bazaar continued each
year, organized by a rotating
committee of expat ladies.
The number of vendors has
multiplied, and stood at 29
last year. The event now offers
a rich mix of items, including
calligraphy scrolls, kitchenware
and even sports gear. “Every
year it gets better and better,”
says Victoria Bunao Olsen,
whose jewelry and accessories
are highly sought after. “Every
year, I look forward to the
Bazaar.”
Victoria is the only vendor
that has been with the Bazaar
since day one. It has been
so ‘fantastic’ for her jewelry
business that these days
“people even ask for a preview,
hoping to get the good stuff,”
she adds with a laugh. It also
generates strong sales for Lee
Lee Heng, who runs a business
selling peasant paintings from
Jinshan, China.
Last year, over NT$600,000
in funds were raised. “We
are really very grateful to
this annual benefit. It helps
a very great deal,” says Sister
Therese Thong, the soft-spoken
executive directress of the
Good Shepherd Social Welfare
Services Foundation of Taiwan,
which runs the home.
This is because St. Lucy’s
depends largely on the goodwill
of ordinary folks. “We do not
run on big donations,” says
Sister Therese. Approximately
60% of the donations the
home receives each month are
in small amounts of NT$100
to NT$1,000 per donor. That
means every little bit counts, so
hurry and get your tickets to
this year’s Bazaar, which falls
on November 17th and will be
at the American Club.
Sunita is originally from Malaysia
and moved to Taipei in 2008.
She has worked as a journalist
with The Edge Singapore, and
now freelances with a business
weekly. She loves good food and
wine, hiking and dogs.
Quinn Tsai Ju Trinnaman
Quinn was an extremely tiny
baby with a compromised
immune system and severe
asthma. Fortunately for her,
at four months of age, she
was placed in foster care with
the trinnaman family, who
went on to adopt her. With
plenty of love and care, Quinn has grown into
a confident and intelligent nine-year-old. She
still suffers from bouts of asthma that can result
in pediatric IcU care about once a year but is
otherwise active, fun-loving, and extremely proud
of her taiwanese heritage.
Jaylen Hsing Yun
Trinnaman
Jaylen was placed with the
trinnaman family after they
returned to the US. At the
time, he was five-and-a-half
years old and since birth had
been cared for by an amazing
foster family in southern
taiwan. He made a remarkable transition and
blended in seamlessly with his new family.
Jaylen is now 11 years-old and a brilliant student.
He's very in tune with the needs of others
and is extremely responsible. He’s become a
phenomenal basketball player and is known as
the “next Yao Ming” around the neighborhood
and at school.
Lena Katherine Bruner and
Samuel Frederick Bruner
Signe Schilperoort and her
husband Fred bruner were
posted to taipei by AIt
between 1998 and 2001.
After they returned to the US,
they began thinking about
adopting. through St. Lucy’s,
they adopted their daughter, Lena, in August
2004 and their son, Sam, two years later. both
children were ten months old when they joined
the bruner family. “they were such healthy and
happy babies and they were so loved and cared
for at St. Lucy’s,” says Signe.
the bruners have just returned to taiwan for
another posting, bringing Lena, now eight, and
Sam, now six, back to the land of their birth
for the first time since they left. both are now
learning Mandarin in school. Lena is good
natured, very creative and artsy, and very good
at drawing. Sam loves to make the family laugh
and is very sensitive and affectionate. He is
currently obsessed with Lego, Star Wars: The
Clone Wars, and anything to do with computers.
Staff at the St. Lucy center in tainan with a US family that
adopted a child with special needs
www.communitycenter.org.tw october 2011
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