From Long-Term Support to Career Exploration:

For many children, their first introduction to different careers comes through their parents, relatives, or family friends. For children living in residential care, opportunities to experience different workplaces can be relatively limited. On August 18, EVERRICH joined hands with Taoyuan International Airport Corporation Ltd. to welcome 17 children from Randi Children’s Home to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for the first time. Accompanied by nearly 20 EVERRICH volunteers, the children embarked on a career exploration experience at the airport, taking part in hands-on activities ranging from making tea bags and experiencing international luxury brands to learning about duty-free pre-order services and riding a shuttle bus onto the airport apron. The experience gave the children an opportunity to step into environments they would not normally encounter and gain firsthand insight into the diverse range of jobs at the airport.
 

EVERRICH has been supporting Randi Children’s Home since 2010, regularly arranging outdoor visits, holiday activities, and experiential programs. Over the years, these interactions have fostered a strong sense of familiarity and connection between EVERRICH volunteers and the children. Continuing this long-term commitment, the program was about more than simply taking the children through a scheduled itinerary. Volunteers stayed alongside the children throughout the experience, doing and talking together as they explored each activity. They selected tea leaves and made their own tea bags while learning about Taiwan’s tea culture and the airport’s role in promoting Taiwan’s cultural identity. They also took part in hands-on luxury brand activities, including fragrance blending and scarf styling, as well as experiencing duty-free pre-order services. Through these activities, the children were introduced to fragrance and lifestyle aesthetics, while gaining an understanding of frontline duties at duty-free stores, including welcoming travelers, handling product collection, and working as a team.
 

The program also included a shuttle bus tour of the airport apron. Accompanied by guides from Taoyuan International Airport’s Aviation Operations Department, the children observed aircraft, ground service vehicles, and Terminal 3 at close range, while learning about apron inspections and aviation safety operations. As the children asked questions throughout the tour, the guides and volunteers patiently responded to each one, turning the career experience from a one-way introduction into an interactive exchange and giving the children another perspective as they begin to imagine their future careers.
 

“The airport is much bigger and more sophisticated than I imagined,” said Xiao Qi, who will soon enter her third year of senior high school and dreams of becoming a flight attendant. It was her first time visiting an airport, and she was excited to have the rare opportunity to learn more about the airport. Xiao Xiang, who will soon begin his first year of university, also gained a broader understanding of the diverse range of jobs at the airport through the program. He described the experience as “really meaningful,” saying that the apron tour was especially new and exciting, and he frequently raised his hand to ask questions.
 

Founded in 2008, Randi Children’s Home currently provides residential care for 44 children and young people aged 0 to 18 who are without parental care or come from disadvantaged backgrounds. In recent years, EVERRICH has expanded its support to include career exploration, taking the children to visit different workplaces and introducing them to a diverse range of industries to help them prepare for independent living in the future.Li Hsueh-ying, Director of Randi Children’s Home, said that long-term care and meaningful companionship are essential to children’s development and their ability to build independence. She expressed her appreciation to EVERRICH volunteers for helping the children realize that, beyond the teachers and social workers at the home, there are also people in society who continue to care about and support them. Such support, she said, helps the children build the confidence they need to face the world.
 

Hsieh Huai-hui, Director of the Department of Public Affairs and Marketing at Taoyuan International Airport Corporation Ltd., said that Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is not only the starting point for travelers embarking on international journeys, but also a workplace where a wide range of professions come together. The airport brings together government agencies, airlines, ground handling services, duty-free retailers, and many other occupations, with more than 30,000 people working together every day to keep the airport operating smoothly. She hopes the experience will help the children move from simply “seeing the airport” to “understanding the work,” giving them a better understanding of the professional roles and collaboration behind Taiwan’s gateway to the world.
 

EVERRICH General Manager Kevin Chiang said that EVERRICH has accompanied the children of Randi Children’s Home for many years, and that its commitment to social welfare goes beyond showing care on specific holidays. As children grow and enter different stages of life, EVERRICH hopes to provide the experiences and opportunities they need at each stage.

“This time, our goal was not for the children to finish the visit knowing exactly what they want to do. Instead, we wanted to give them the opportunity to see more, ask more questions, and try new things,” he said.

Looking ahead, EVERRICH will continue to support the children through workplace visits and hands-on experiences, helping them build life experience, broaden their horizons, and take one step at a time toward the next stage of their growth.