Volunteer Services

As introduced by the Taiwan Yearbook 2006:

Volunteers play an important role in Taiwan's social service system. To promote public awareness and appreciation of volunteerism, and to better integrate volunteers at all levels of society and make the best use of available resources, the government promulgated the Volunteer Service Act in January 2001.

Taiwan's comprehensive network of volunteer services represents the joint efforts of the government and the private sector. By the end of 2005, a total of 1,233 volunteer service teams with more than 64,822 volunteers performing a variety of activities had been formed under governments at all levels. According to statistics provided by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), volunteers contributed an average of 1.64 hours of their time per week. Many others undertake volunteer work through charitable organizations. One of the largest such organizations is the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation. Established in 1966 by Master Cheng Yen, the foundation is involved in charity, medicine, education, culture, international relief, bone marrow donation, environmental protection, and community service. This nonprofit organization now has offices in 39 countries around the world.