Jericho, a 13-year old boy from Tanglaw home, ended his heartfelt testimony with a wish: “Gusto ko pong makatapos ng pag-aaral para ako naman po ang makatulong sa ibang tao (I would like to finish my studies, so I can help other people too),” leaving the You Are IncluEDed donors’ café attendees teary-eyed last August 18.
He is one of the children and mothers who are beneficiaries of this year’s Give2Achieve campaign and Virlanie’s sponsorship program who attended the event. It was sponsored by 3M Philippines, the Foundation’s partner for more than 20 years.
The event brought together people who are one in promoting and supporting inclusive education. The Give2Achieve donors, Virlanie sponsors, and beneficiaries bonded through packing of rainy-day and baking and turning over of cooking tools. The attendees were also treated to a tour of 3M’s Innovation Lab, and the children and mothers were entertained with a Mad Science show. See photos here:
Apart from the fun activities and presentation of Give2Achieve’s milestones this year, was a heartfelt letter written by the kids from Tanglaw home and read by Jericho for Virlanie’s sponsors and supporters:
“Para sa mga minamahal naming mga sponsors,
Magandang umaga!
Nais po naming iparating sa inyo ang aming taos-pusong pasasalamat. Kami po, bilang mga batang Virlanie, ay lubusang pinagpala dahil nariyan kayo para kami ay tulungan.
Ang aming kinabukasan ay paniguradong gaganda dahil sa inyong suporta sa aming pag-aaral. Ang aming hinahandog na kapalit ay aming pag-aaral nang mabuti.
Ngayong araw na ito, lubos kaming nagagalak na makita kayong lahat. Nakita naming ang mga taong malapit sa aming puso.
Nawa’y wag po kayong magsawa sa patuloy na pagsuporta sa amin at pagbibigay-inspirasyon upang maging mabuti sa kapwa. Sana po, sa araw na ito, ay napasaya naming kayo.
Nawa’y pagpalain pa po kayo ng ating mahal na Panginoon. Muli, maraming Salamat po.
Lubos na nagmamahal,
Tanglaw home
To our beloved sponsors,
Good morning!
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of you. Us Virlanie kids are blessed because you are there to help us.
Our future will surely be beautiful because of your support for our education. What we offer in return is that we will study well.
Today, we are happy to see all of you. We saw the people who are close to our hearts.
We hope that you will never get tired of supporting us and being an inspiration to others to become better people. We hope that we made you happy today.
We hope that God blesses you further. Again, thank you very much.
With much love,
Tanglaw home”
The event took the chance to acknowledge Give2Achieve supporters, most specifically, 3M who co-presented the event. Also presented on the event were the activities done during the campaign including:
IncluED: Inclusive education dialogues held at St. Benilde;
online fundraising campaign led by Alyssa de Guzman, an individual who wished to make a difference for children’s education; and
Job readiness trainings for young adults through our partnership with SC Johnson, among others.
With the help of Give2Achieve donors, Virlanie was able to gather funds that will support inclusive education of 174 children, and 80 mothers and young adults.
