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$30K donated to help rebuild Tinian church’s social hall
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Posted on May 27 2019
Tim Chen, president of Tinian Entertainment Co., second from right, joins Tinian officials during a recent get-together.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Tim Chen, president of Tinian Entertainment Co., has donated $30,000 to the Friends of San Jose Church Tinian, with the amount to be used to help rebuild the San Jose Church social hall on Tinian.
“We are so incredibly fortunate to have friends around the world who care about Tinian and who are willing to help us rebuild our church,” said Dawn Sarmiento, co-chair of the non-profit organization.
Chen described watching the many videos that showed the catastrophic destruction of the island caused by Super Typhoon Yutu as “very saddening.”
“I wish nothing but the best for the people of Tinian and I hope that my contribution will help them continue with their efforts to fully recover from the typhoon,” he said.
Chen said he “fell in love with the pristine beauty of Tinian the minute I stepped onto the island. …I have deep affection for the island that goes beyond wanting to invest there. The people are very friendly and the island is very peaceful.”
The Friends of San Jose Church Tinian is hoping to begin construction of the church’s social hall, which will be used as a temporary place of worship while rebuilding the new church, before December 2019.
“I pledge to continue helping the Friends of San Jose Church Tinian by encouraging all my friends to help in any way that they can,” said Chen.
The officers of the non-profit organization are Sarmiento, co-chair; Richard Lazaro, vice chair; Ian Pascua, secretary and Teruko King, treasurer.
The non-profit also held a fundraiser at annual Tinian San Jose Fiesta, raising close to $10,000 in a two-day period.
All proceeds will go toward rebuilding of the group’s first project, which is the Tinian social hall.
“We are working on finalizing the design of the social hall and hope to begin construction before the end of the year. We are not quite there yet financially to announce a definitive date but, with hard work and aggressive fundraising efforts and outreach, I am confident that we can reach our goal,” said Kimberlyn King-Hinds, who is a member of the group.
If you want to make a donation or follow the progress of the group, follow their Facebook page by liking Friends of the San Jose Church Tinian. (PR)
