Miss Taiwan and Miss Junior Taiwan visit San Gabriel pre-school to give gifts and money

By Adolfo Flores, Staff WriterPosted: 12/03/2010 09:56:14 PM PST

 Photo GalleryMiss Taiwan visits San GabrielMiss Junior Taiwan Verena Wong, 5, of Arcadia, left, and Miss Taiwan Paula Wu, 21, of Palo Alto, together give away toys to preschoolers from La Casa Cummunity Center, during the Miss Taiwan Foundation Toy Drive at San Gabriel Community Center, Friday, December 3, 2010.
(Correspondent Photo by James Carbone)

SAN GABRIEL - Miss Taiwan and Miss Junior Taiwan visited La Casa de San Gabriel Community Center to present preschoolers with gifts and a $3,000 check from a local bank.

Most of the $3,000 will go to the the preschool, but toys and food were also bought with the money.

“We’re a bank and we serve the community. That’s part of our

mission especially in the holiday season,” said Geoffrey Liu, president and chief executive officer of Chinatrust Bank. “We have been serving the community for over

20 years and it’s always our mission to give back.”

A UCLA student from Palo Alto, Paula Wu won the Miss Taiwan crown in August at a ceremony in El Monte and has been busy since.

“La Casa does a great service to the community with medical, tutoring and counseling services. The role they play is vital to the community,” Wu said. “It’s special … it’s about people and people’s needs.”

La Casa has a wide range of families, some are low-income, said City Manager Steven Preston. The center strives to help these families and the 48 kids they serve.

“By providing money, they help support our initiatives with the children,” Preston said.

La Casa works with 6,500 clients annually, ranging from infants to the elderly.

“We’re an organization that’s here to help the working poor,” said CEO Cheryl Prentice. “They helped provide Christmas gifts for children who might not have gotten one otherwise.”

Click here for a photo gallery of the event: http://lang.pasadenastarnews.com/photos/photos.asp?a=1128577#id=1128577&num=0

Read more:http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_16774675?IADID=Search-www.sgvtribune.com-www.sgvtribune.com#ixzz17AxRBBlb