On the 2nd of April 2013, the staff and volunteers of Virlanie Foundation gathered for the annual Town Meeting at the Duer Hall Bldg, College of Saint Benilde, Taft Avenue, Manila. This event is held every year to report on the status of the various departments in Virlanie in the previous year and the directions they intend to take for the current year.
The Deputy Executive Director, Arlyne Fernandez, presented on behalf of the Programs. By end of 2012, Virlanie was able to care for 1228 children: 407 children through the Residential Program and 821 children through the Outreach Program. This is a decline from the number of children served in 2011, which was anticipated due to the foundation’s financial situation.
An important update to note is the restructuring of the programs in 2013. Mother & Child Home (MC) is now called the Babies & Toddler Home (BTH) and it is now under Cluster 1 (for babies and young children) with MPCC, Masaya and Tanglaw Homes. The Drop-In Center and the Recovered Treasures (RT) are now under Cluster 2 (for young adults) along with Elizabeth Home (EH), Ella Yallah Home (EY), Patricia Halfway Home (PHH) and Weaning Home (WH).
Robert Nacion, Finance and Administration Department’s Officer-in-Charge, presented the financial report. With the remittances received in 2012, the expected funding gap was decreased by Php 6 million. It was also determined that 81% of the funds came from foreign donations, 13% were from sponsorships, with only 6% coming from local donors.
The financial report was consistent with the results of the efforts of the Fundraising and Communications team which showed the trend that majority of the support received came from foreign sources. In 2012, 93% of the grants received were from foreign funders and majority of the sponsors came from France. Thus, the initiatives of the FRCOM team for 2013 are geared towards increasing local involvement.
Booking activities with the children in the Virlanie Homes was made more efficient with the online registration set up through Virlanie’s Facebook page. The strategy for the 2013 campaigns will remain focused on generating support by encouraging donations for the priority needs of Virlanie. The plans of enhancing the local Sponsorship program will be set into motion on May 2013 by initiating a discussion with those already committed as sponsors. The new product line from Virlanie Social Project (VSP, formerly Income Generating Program) will also be launched in the second quarter of the year.
The final presenter for the day was Lisette Villanueva for the HR Department who explained why different policies had to be implemented as part of the cost-cutting measures. Then, the eighteen (18) staff members who remained healthy throughout 2012 were recognized. The loyalty awardees were also commended.
After the presentations, an open forum was held. The representatives of the different departments answered the questions posed by Virlanie staff and volunteers pertaining to their respective presentations.
To cap off the event, Fr. Jacques Leclerc du Sablon gave an inspirational talk and shared stories to motivate the Virlanie family with the message that in these times of crisis, as long as they remain committed to their mission and help one another, they’ll grow stronger and become more resilient.
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