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Kanner Foundation struggles with plummet in sales and donations since COVID

Kanner Foundation struggles with plummet in sales and donations since COVID

2022-07-26

The pandemic has hit charities around the world. In Taiwan, the Kanner Foundation saw donations and product sales plummet. The Kanner Foundation provides a home, fulfilling work and lifelong care for adults with Kanner’s Syndrome, a kind of autism. The foundation’s cakes are famous nationwide. But now the organization says it needs help to plug the gap created by COVID.

With guidance from the teacher, this student carefully removes stones from these dates. Other students are on packing. The weight of each package is checked. The sweets are all made by hand in the Kanner Foundation of Taiwan. But the pandemic cut deep into Mid-Autumn Festival sales this year. The students have less work to do.

Chang Su-mei
Kanner Foundation of Taiwan
Our sales volume is drastically reduced. Our donations from the general public have fallen by half as well. Our kids learn while working, and then their emotions are more stable. So now we notice that with less chance for them to work, they have more emotional turbulence. And that makes more work for our teachers.

Normally, Mid-Autumn Festival orders are piling up by July. But this year, they’re just 10% of pre-COVID levels. And with lots of weddings canceled due to the pandemic, wedding pastry sales are down 90% too.

Students show off their creations with pride. The foundation is hoping more people will step up to help. All their profits go to support the students and run their “village” in Taoyuan’s Longtan District.

Chang Su-mei
Kanner Foundation of Taiwan
We have a lot of diverse services. Although the buildings aren’t finished yet, we have many other facilities, such as the farm garden. There are kids living there already. They get to know the place very fast, and have great interactions with people in wider society.

The village has space to house 60 foundation members. Some people with autism age early, and when their parents are elderly, they may need specialist care. Members of the foundation also take care of each other. But with the pandemic causing trouble, everyone is working harder.

肯納自閉症基金會陷困境 中秋節訂單剩一成

2022-07-26

受到疫情影響,許多社福團體面臨挑戰,像是肯納自閉症基金會,不只社會捐款少了一大半,中秋節產品訂單只有疫情前的一成,導致肯納青年的工作量大減,情緒也變得較不穩定,因此希望大眾能一起做愛心,幫助他們度過艱難的疫情時期。

在老師的指導下,學員小心翼翼地用塑膠刀把椰棗切開去籽,另一頭則是忙著包裝,每一包都精準測重,每份點心是肯納青年親手做的,但受疫情影響,今年中秋禮盒訂單銳減,工作機會少了一大半。

[[台灣肯納自閉症基金會執行長 張素媚]]
“整個訂單量減少,還有我們一般社會的捐款也真的是掉了一大半,我們孩子在工作中學習,他們情緒是比較穩定的,所以我們有發現,他們工作機會減少,情緒的波動會比較大,所以老師會比較辛苦”

以往到了七月,已有大量中秋訂單,但今年只有疫情前不到一成,另外,不少新人因為疫情取消婚宴,喜餅訂購量也掉了近9成。

介紹親手做的商品,肯納青年如數家珍,基金會希望社會大眾能伸出援手,因為這些收入都是用來照顧學員,和維持位在桃園龍潭的肯納莊園。

[[台灣肯納自閉症基金會執行長 張素媚]]
“有很多多元的服務活動,即使建物還沒完成,我們在旁邊有很多場域,有農園,那邊現在已經入住的孩子,能夠很快熟悉那邊,而且也在那邊跟社區有很好的互動”

莊園開放60個肯納家庭入住,當父母年紀大了,肯納青年因為疾病急速老化,有專人照顧,家庭間也能互相照應,讓他們有一個安身立命的地方。

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