Our First Community Fundraiser: Connexpedition x USPS Operation Santa 2020

Connexpedition is a volunteer program created by Wisdom Culture and Education Organization that brings together high school students in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle metropolitan area. In the summer, we travel to Taiwan to teach English in developing communities, directly impacting thousands of children each year.

While we were unable to embark on our volunteer trip this summer, our commitment to service remains the same. This year, we have invited all 450+ alumni of our program to join us as we turn our community of volunteers into a force for good.

This holiday season, we have decided as a community to raise funds to adopt letters to Santa as a part of the United States Postal Service's annual Operation Santa® program. Each year, hundreds of thousands of letters are sent to Santa from children and families around the country. USPS Operation Santa makes it possible for individuals and organizations to adopt these letters and send responses and thoughtful gifts in Santa’s place. With your help, we will adopt letters asking for new shoes, clothes, and other basic necessities.

100% of your contribution will go towards the purchase of gifts, postage, and administrative costs for this holiday drive.

We hope you will consider helping us extend our impact by contributing to our first ever community fundraiser. Help us reach our ambitious goal of 100 letters adopted this holiday season. Our success will translate to even more fundraisers and service events that help provide our volunteers with the means to excel as community leaders while directly helping children and families in our own neighborhoods.

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Learn more about USPS Operation Santa® 2020: https://www.uspsoperationsanta.com

Learn more about Connexpedition: https://connexpedition.com

We will publish a report on our website with the final expenditures and results of this holiday drive.

Learn more about Wisdom Culture and Education Organization: https://wceo.org

Wisdom Culture and Education Organization is not affiliated nor endorsed by the United States Postal Service or USPS Operation Santa® 2020.

Wisdom Culture and Education Organization is a tax-exempt non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, Employer Identification Number (EIN) 94-3353598. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

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Fundraiser Report

• Total donations received: $531.63

• Credit card and platform fees: $50.41

• Target gift cards to Operation Santa recipients: $250.00

• Postage: $38.75

• Donation to Family Giving Tree Holiday Wish Drive: $192.47

Repost published on December 29, 2020.

Making the Most of our Circumstances - Beginning Online Lessons

We are extremely proud to be working with 50 members of Connexpedition 2020 to continue the spirit of the program despite the circumstances that prevented them from serving in Taiwan this summer.

This week, we started our first online lessons with the students of New Taipei City! These students were originally planning to attend our English summer camp. The online phase of the program normally follows the camp, but because of the challenges presented by COVID-19, we will mentor these students online first and hopefully get to see them in-person next summer instead.

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Summer 2020 Trip Postponed to 2021

Dear Connexpedition 2020 Members,

Today we write to you knowing that this is not the news you were hoping to hear. We understand that you were all looking forward to the opportunity to travel to Taiwan and serve the students of New Taipei City alongside new friends this summer. While disappointing, we hope you can understand our decision to postpone this summer's trip.

The shelter-in-place order in our local counties and the state of California has had a detrimental impact to our training progress.

Moreover, our decision will put first the health and safety of the hundreds, if not thousands, of people our program impacts: you and your family, the students of New Taipei City and their families, our staff, and the faculty and administrative staff of the New Taipei City school district.

A number of restrictions informed our decision to postpone the trip:

• Taiwan CDC imposed restrictions on indoor gatherings > 100 persons. The date of lifting these restrictions currently remains to be decided.

• Taiwan has barred all foreign visitors (non-Taiwanese passport holders) from entering the country effective March 19. The date of lifting the entry restriction currently remains to be decided.

• Any traveler arriving from outside Taiwan and granted entry are subject to a 14-day home quarantine.

• While strict shelter-at-home orders from the Office of the Governor in California will last until the end of May, we do not expect to be allowed to host large gatherings in June based on the governor's new four-stage plan to ease social-distancing requirements. We will be unable to host the necessary in-person training sessions in May and June to prepare for our trip.

Additional interpretations of the ongoing situation were also taken into consideration:

• The wearing of masks in Taiwan is not only viewed as a courtesy, but a responsibility to others during this time. Wearing masks in warmer environments for extended periods of time may put our volunteers and students at risk of heat-related illnesses.

• Most travel medical insurance plans have an exclusion for coverage related to epidemics or pandemics if a travel warning for the destination country has been issued for a certain number of days prior to the travel period.

• Anyone at our service location (not limited to volunteers and students) developing symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of actually contracting the disease, will suspend our service in Taiwan indefinitely and cause severe disruptions to any travel plans. This will result in the possibility of needing to cancel flights, additional costs for room and board, and extraneous medical expenses.

• The decision to postpone our service trip now will allow us to begin organizing our contingency plan. This will give you, our members, more time and information to make an informed decision regarding your participation in the revised Connexpedition 2020 program.

We are extremely fortunate to have you as a part of our family and are extremely proud of what we have already accomplished together during these unprecedented times. As mentioned previously, your commitment and efforts will not go to waste, and we invite you to participate in our revised Connexpedition 2020 program. The specific details of the new program will be announced to you soon via email.

In the meantime, we will continue to remain in communication with you and your families and provide opportunities for distance learning and bonding with your teammates. As always, we are available via email should you have any questions or concerns.

We wish you and your family good health in the coming weeks and months.

Sincerely,

Tswei-Ping Wu
Vice Director, WCEO

David Huang
Program Coordinator-TW

Brian Chen
Program Coordinator-US

Sophie Lam
Program Manager

Coronavirus Update | April 1, 2020

At this time, we are still unsure if we will be able to go back to Taiwan this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, until we have a definitive verdict regarding travel restrictions in July, we will continue our program as planned while adapting to local, state, and federal public health guidelines.

Members: Our next training has been postponed until April 26th. Please view our latest email for more information.

We will host a Q&A session for members on April 4th before the Parent's Information Session. Details have been emailed to you.

Parents: Please join us for an informational session on the evening of April 4th. Details have been sent to your inbox.

We understand that you may be shifting your priorities due to the current situation and uncertainty surrounding this summer’s trip. If you do not plan to continue with Connexpedition, please let us know as soon as you can. You may also choose to attend the Q&A sessions first to make a more informed decision. As always, we appreciate your patience and understanding as we adjust to these unexpected circumstances. We hope you are continuing to stay safe and healthy. Please do not hesitate to email us if you have any questions.

Online Training During Social Distancing

We've had to transform our program's traditional training sessions into an online format during these unprecedented times. Thanks to all our members for your time and adaptability! Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

Coronavirus Update | March 11, 2020

The health and well-being of our members and families will always guide our decision making. We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 coronavirus situation. Although there is no guidance from government public health agencies that limits gatherings of less than 1,000 people, recent actions by various local organizations, universities, and workplaces have amplified concerns in our community. We have decided to make the following changes to Connexpedition training:

• Sunday, March 22, 2020: Training and parent's information session canceled The training session that was originally planned for Sunday the 22nd will be moved to an online format. The parent's information session will also be moved to a later date (see below). Members will still need to complete Homework Assignment 1. Members must attend one of eight two-hour time slots on Saturday, March 21st and Sunday, March 22nd to demonstrate their lesson plan. Updated instructions will be sent to members in an email with the subject "Update to Homework Assignment 1."

• March 29, 2020: Training canceled We will no longer meet in person on Sunday the 29th. To make up for the lost time, we will extend the hours of the training planned for Sunday, May 17th.

• March 30, 2020: Second round of decision emails Our staff will finalize our volunteer roster on the 30th based on each member's performance during their lesson demonstration on March 21 and 22. Members that possess the necessary skills to teach English in Taiwan will receive an email with next steps.

• April 4, 2020: Parent's information session will be held via web conference We are planning to host the information session for parents during the evening of Saturday, April 4th. This information session will also be recorded if you are unable to attend. More details will be provided at the end of March.

• April 5, 2020: Decision to continue in-person training sessions A decision will be made on April 5th whether to continue our in-person training sessions based on the latest COVID-19 information at that time.

Please do not hesitate to email us at connexpedition@wceo.org if you have any questions or concerns. As a reminder, please continue to practice healthy habits at home and follow guidance from government public health agencies: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/phd/DiseaseInformation/novel-coronavirus/Documents/COVID19Update-Individuals.pdf

Thank you for your continued flexibility and patience as we work to mitigate the impact to our program.