Ten venues for the upcoming Summer Universiade, the largest global sporting event ever staged in Taiwan, will exclusively sell food products made by the intellectually and physically disabled so as to foster social inclusion and promote the important work of local welfare organizations, the Taipei Universiade Organizing Committee announced July 5.
The items are produced by four groups: Children Are Us Foundation (CAREUS), a nongovernmental group for the mentally disabled in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City; Down Syndrome Foundation in New Taipei City; and cafes at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei City as well as Taoyuan Armed Forces Hospital in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City.
These organizations produce a variety of handmade snacks including cookies, nachos and popsicles. Sales of the items fund various social welfare programs, including counseling, day care, family support, job training and transportation services.
According to TUOC, the products will be sold throughout the Aug.19-30 games at sites across New Taipei, Taipei and Taoyuan cities as well as northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu County. Participating venues include the Taipei Tennis Center, Heping Basketball Gymnasium and National Taiwan University Sports Center.
In addition, CAREUS and Down Syndrome Foundation will operate snack booths at Taipei Stadium, the main venue for the games, during the opening and closing ceremonies.
TUOC Chief Executive Officer Su Li-chiung said that the compassion and kindness demonstrated by these groups are in line with the values of fairness and sportsmanship embodied by the Universiade. The participation of these social welfare organizations underscores that the Universiade is not simply a sporting event, but a platform for fostering greater understanding between people from different nations, cultures and backgrounds, she added.
Su also expressed hope that sales of the products will bring greater attention to the groups’ work and help them attract more support for their efforts.
Also known as the World University Games, the Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival staged biennially in a different city worldwide. The 29th edition of the games in Taipei involves 7,700-plus student athletes from 153 countries contesting 21 sports at 38 competition venues across northern Taiwan. (CPY-E)
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