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1/4/2008 The Gamania Cheer Up Foundation is created
Armed with the spirit of the motto “Dare to dream and dare to be yourself,” the Gamania Cheer Up Foundation was officially founded on January 4th, 2008. The foundation hoped to raise spirits and pursue dreams. It also hoped to channel positive value into society. The foundation formally announced its dream planting sponsorship plan at a press conference. The plan was to encourage taking the initiative and becoming advocates for their dreams.
2/1-7/2008 Dream Planting Sponsorship Plan
The foundation collected many various types of dream ideas during the four-month collection phase of the “Dream Planting Sponsorship Plan.” Four choices were chosen based on the four criteria defined in the plan: ──Creativity, Adventure, Public Participation and Art Specialization── The Gamania Foundation contributed one million Taiwan dollars especially for the cause. The hope was to carry out the “Dream Planting” plan and open the lines of communication with many more young people.
4/2/2008 The Polar Challenge
The famous director of the documentary “Conquest of the North Pole,” Yang Lizhou just finished filming “The Polar Challenge” which was conducted by the Gamania Foundation. In “The Polar Challenge,” the Chairman of the foundation, Albert, steps in to the line of fire to put out the call for youths who had the courage to pursue their dreams. He then formed the “Gamania Foundation Dream Team” with the experienced adventurers, Kevin Lin and Jason Chen. The team then went to the North Pole to take on the ultimate challenge in the harsh polar environment! In the end, some of the box office profits from “Conquest of the North Pole” were donated to 23 families in need.
7/16/2009 The First Summer School
After entering its second year, the foundation held its first summer school event. The goal was to create an environment that cultivated dreams. The school provided training for college and dispatched the students to different remote townships to counsel the young elementary students there. This kind of public service fostered the creation of two-way care between adolescents and remote students. It also established the idea for a public service goal that was built around “Two-Way Public Service.”
7/11/2010 The Second Summer School
With the successful results of the first summer school, the second one in 2010 was expanded in scope and effect. It extended on the concept of “Public Service Fun” and expanded the service area of the college students from last year’s Wanli District to Fengshan, Kaohsiung and other townships in Hualien. Thus the area of care provided by the foundation was expanded. We hope to continue with the summer school program to create a public service base for young people and to encourage more community participation.
12/13/2010 – 1/7/2011 Fifty Dollar Public Service Fun
The aim of the “Fifty Dollar Public Service Fun” activity is to encourage youths to use a limited resource (50 Dollars), unleash their creativity and discover a new form of public service! The students use creative public service to achieve a higher sense of accomplishment and the confidence to pursue their dreams. The activity also promotes the idea of spreading kindness and fun! The Gamania spirit integrates with the objective of the foundation and the fun result is shared through a network platform.
6/7/2011 Gamania Bravery
After the “Survey of Goals and Courage of the E-generation” was conducted by the foundation, it found that while young people in the process of creating their dreams, there was a significant lack of “Courage Education.” We wanted to help young people pursue their dreams so we made “Courage” a core part of our focus. We hoped that the navigation education and adventure education brought by “Gamania Bravery” would encourage the students to challenge their limits! During the activity, we saw the students deal with frustration, face challenges, take initiative, earn a respect for life and gain the courage to follow their dreams!
6/27/2011 The Third Summer School
Continuing in the spirit of “Gamania Bravery,” the third summer school recruited a group of young students who had the courage to dream and take on adventures. This group of “courage seeds” learned how to live and work as a team, communicate with others, provide feedback, divide up work and gained the ability to lead and be led during a five-day training session. They also had to learn how to be alone. All these skills will be important later in their lives. After the training was over, we took the students to Longmen Sanxia Middle School and Kaohsiung Mailiao Middle School, two schools in remote villages, to help out the students there. They took the valuable skills they learned and passed them on to the children in the villages. This is a proud example of the concept of the “Giving Back to Society Spirit” that the foundation promotes!
6/24/2012 The Fifteen-Day 1,111 Kilometer Bicycle Trip Around the Island
Every year since 2007, Albert embarks on a trip around the island. Sometimes he does it by bike sometimes he explores the beautiful area on foot. This year, Albert knew that many young people have the dream to do the same, but they need help realizing this dream. They are often held back by the costs or safety concerns and thus never have the chance. Thus, the hope was to use the energy of the foundation to help the students find their courage and realize this dream. The Family Support Foundation and several students from China joined up to create a team of five girls and ten boys. On June 25th, 2012, the group set out from a gas station on Dadu Road. There were many setbacks, however. Even before they started their journey, some students dropped out because of career plans and some had to leave to comply with safety rules. Also, due to an incoming typhoon, the group had to finish one leg of the journey across the dangerous 102-kilometer long Suhua Highway in one day. Some students got injured and had to leave because of the concerns of their families. Many students were not used to the environments that they encountered, so many conflicts arose among them too. These and many factors disrupted the goal of having all the students make the journey back to Taipei safely. However, the students quickly gained an understanding that when they set out to realize a dream they are also stepping out of their comfort zones. They learned to be humble and how to depend on one another. They realized that pursuing their dreams requires courage and hard work, but it also requires good friends to cheer them along.
On July 13, 2012 the students returned to the starting point of their journey, dirty but with smiles on their faces! Thirteen dreams were realized that day.
7/30/2012 The Fourth Summer School
This year 66 students participated in the summer school. They were divided into two groups and each group underwent eight days of training. Their public service lasted ten days. The time period is set with the hope that the students will adjust their bodies and minds to their optimum states so that when they arrive at the remote villages they will be able to give their all to the social service.
The training involves setting up a tent, camping and having a picnic to encourage team building. Even more importantly, during this time the students are forbidden from using electronic devices. This allows the students to focus on classes and communication with each other. It also pushes them outside their comfort zones. The adventure education classes during the day let the students challenge their limits. They encourage students to build courage, believe in themselves and trust in others. Every evening the students share and give feedback on their experiences. This gives them a chance to reflect and listen to others. This class also allows the students to see what conflicts their peers are dealing with. During the service period, every small group had tasks to complete. These included:
First Level Hualien Shuiyuan Group – Make friends with the locals and build a structure out of bamboo.
First Level Kaohsiung Jianshan Group- Paint a relief outside the Jianshan Elementary School.
Second Level Hualien Shuiyuan Group – Make friends with the locals and build a structure out of bamboo.
Second Level Tainan New City– Rennovate the walls around the homes.
In addition to this, the students also went to a disaster area to help clean up the devastation to the homes in Hsiulin, Hualien and Heping caused by the typhoon. The students not only had to undergo strenuous work to do the service, but they also had to learn how to interact and cooperate with the villagers. Everything the students learned from their leader, the architect, the local elders, the cooking ladies, the old folks in the villages and the children, motivated them to throw themselves more in providing for the community. We saw the energy accumulate through the eyes of the students. We knew that they’ve now begun their journey towards realizing their dreams. Through these two events, the Gamania Cheer Up Foundation has led the students to work hard to achieve their dreams and the foundation has developed right along with them.
9/15/2012 Summer School Results Announcement Ceremony
This year’s results announcement ceremony not only showed the benefits the students received, it also provided an opportunity to share the song “Flying Around the Island” which was written by Ah Joe from Brand Center Music Planning and sung by Luzi, who was one of the cyclists on the trip around the island. This song served as an anthem during the journey.
▲One of the around-the-island cyclists, Luzi (Left) and Joe (Right) from Brand Center Music Planning kick of the results announcement ceremony.
▲Yanbo, a representative of the foundation also attended the announcement ceremony and student activities.
▲After the announcement ceremony was over, the students who completed the program received a “Courage” certificate and badge.
▲Ah Bin, the CEO of the foundation posed for a picture with everyone after the ceremony ended.