The Chang Yung-Fa Charity Foundation and Evergreen Marine Corp. together donated NT$150,000 to Taiwan Elite International Rescue Association to sponsor expenses for Sunny’s food, healthcare, training and equipment and held the “Sponsorship Ceremony for Sunny Our Rescue Hero” at the Evergreen Plaza Hotel (Tainan) on June 12. Our hero, donning the “Disaster Prevention Education Ambassador” vest which symbolizes honor, strutted onto the stage to the theme from Mission Impossible played by Kunshan Elementary School’s string orchestra. Also invited to the ceremony were the Taiwan Elite International Rescue Association secretary-general, Zhang Bin; Evergreen Marine Corp. chairman, Chang Cheng-Yung; Evergreen Plaza Hotel’s deputy general manager, Lin Yung-Tsun; and Kunshan Elementary School’s principal, Yu Meng-He to witness this educationally significant moment.

In February this year when the Weiguan apartment complex collapsed, Sunny joined the lineup of the rescue workforce immediately, making indelible contributions to the rescue operation. During the rescue process, Sunny was injured in his hind leg but went right back into the rescue operation straight after receiving treatment. We were moved by his dedication. Sunny, a five-year-old German Shepard, was at the time of the rescue operation the only rescue dog trained by the civilian rescue group. At 20 months of age, Sunny obtained his international rescue dog certificate. He passed Taiwan’s advanced rubble search and rescue certification with flying colors and took part in the Kaohsiung Gas Explosion and Tainan Earthquake rescue missions. The rescue association's secretary-general said, “Dogs can smell 10,000 times and hear 40 times better than humans. Rescue dogs are currently the fastest and most effective life detectors. Given its fast speed and precision, an outstanding rescue dog often performs better than 30 rescue personnel put together. It’s has been tough to keep the association going, so we are very thankful for the Foundation’s substantial support and hope that organizations from all sectors will continue to support us.” “

The Foundation stated, “Civilian rescue teams contribute a great deal to society by engaging in disaster rescue operations of all sizes in Taiwan on a long-term basis along with rescue dogs. It’s often dangerous on the rescue site whose areas being so expansive are often inaccessible by humans or machineries and would rely on rescue dogs to share the rescue execution. Now we are sponsoring Sunny as our Foundation’s rescue education ambassador hoping to appeal to more people in our society to understand more about rescue dogs and invite Sunny to give on-campus promotional tours about rescue information. "

Evergreen Marine Corporation's chairman, Chang Cheng-Yung, joined in and gifted Sunny with a multifunctional harness for rescue dogs that will allow Sunny to speedily arrive at sites that humans cannot access on foot. Evergreen Marine Corp. has long been engaged in public causes in education, medical care, disaster relief and helping with disadvantaged groups with mental and physical disabilities. It has since 2012 hosted 20 sessions of “Building the golden voyage of a lifetime” career seminar, spending millions of dollars helping people turn a new lease in life, benefiting an estimated number of over 3,000 students and 50 students in remote areas moving onto marine-related colleges. Further, Evergreen Marine Corp. plans to promote career seminars on sailing and marine propulsion in colleges and universities in southern Taiwan in the second half of 2016.

Chang Yung-Fa Charity Foundation and Evergreen Marine Corp. are dedicated to Taiwan on a long-term basis and put out joint rescue operations when major disasters occur. For the southern Taiwan disaster relief, the Evergreen Group donated funds and provided ensuing assistance in line with the needs of people affected by the disaster while hosting the “0206 Love & Gratitude, Tomorrow” concert to comfort families in disaster zones and to salute the rescue heroes. The Foundation will continue to integrate the Evergreen Group’s resources and care for Taiwan’s disadvantaged groups in tandem with social welfare groups.