Yesterday was the moment I’ve been waiting for to give the donations for my birthday project this year. It has been postponed for weeks now since we can’t find a schedule that fits us all.
To give you a brief background how this activity transpires, I started a project on my birth month which was last September. This project hopes to extend and inspire people to share their blessings to our less fortunate brothers and sisters. With this, I hope that I can make this a lifelong commitment to contribute to communities that needs help. To know more, you can visit my other blog: Birthday Projects
Anyway, first of all I would like to thank all who participated physically and financially to make this project of mine possible. I’ve gathered a total of Php 16,000 for the benefit of Grace to Be Born shelter. The donations came from my family and friends and I would like to mention them to show my gratitude for supporting me in my project. Your generosity means a lot.
Thank you to the following:
Jun Dolor, Richard Tan, Nico Orillano, Mimi Haron, Jeng Sunga, Kath Gonzales, Maan Mangubat, Andrew Abalos, Cha Roque, Es Vega and someone Anonymous
So here’s what happened when we visited the shelter yesterday. By the way, since it was moved almost reaching the month of November, Coe decided to join me in this project so it was like a double celebration for us, my birthday project plus Coe’s birthday too. ^_^
We were scheduled to visit the shelter at 4:00pm. We went in two batches since we can’t fit in one car. Me, Andrew, Ate Cha, Kuya Sheldon and Jim was first to arrive in the place. To moment we were settled, they all lined up and sat in front of us, I need to start communicating and doing some adlibs while waiting for the next batch. Actually, I’m not prepared to speak in front of them since I thought that Coe is the one in charge of the program. I have no choice since they were all looking at me. So I just talk and inform them of why we were there. I also started asking their names for their names written on their crowns.
We mingled with them and joke around. Also, two babies were isolated because they have cough and flu. And there I knew baby Nicole. She is a one year old cute jolly girl who has skin asthma and was abandoned by her mom after she gave birth to her.
After a couple of minutes, the rest of the gang arrived. They hurriedly fixed their things and started the program. Coe introduced herself and started the game: Diaper Relay. Oh boy, those moms are so competitive! Hahaha!
The winner team was able to get a prize from us sponsored by yours truly. After the game, the two doctors were kind enough to share their knowledge and gave the mothers and soon to be moms some tips and information about breast feeding. Everyone was happy especially when we raffled out some teddy bears that was sponsored by Zeny and 2 major items: Diaper Bag with Goodies! (that was sponsored by Daven) Not only that, Kuya Sheldon also gave Php 500 each for the last 2 moms that wasn’t picked during the raffle plus a gift pack.
While we were having fun in the visitor’s area, Andrew and Jim went to the Nursery Room to check the babies. They were accompanied by Ms. Aira of Grace to Be Born and informed them how young the babies were. They had their own time there!
After the fun time, we decided to pray and eat the food we brought to the center. We allotted Php 1000 for the food and the rest would be given to the shelter in cash. They prefer donations in cash so that they can pay the rent and other miscellaneous stuff the shelter needs to pay to continue their operation.
Before we finally dig in to the food, we surprised Coe for her birthday. (It’s really on November 3!) ^_^
We had pizzas, pansit and bread, cakes that was sponsored by Jim and of course drinks for everyone. We had juice for the moms and soda for us!
After eating, we had our time to mingle and talk to moms and know their stories. It was nice talking to them and we enjoyed hearing their stories. It was sad but inspiring as well. They are empowered women to be proud of. They are heroes on their own way since they’ve decided not to abort the baby and keep it. It takes a lot of strength to decide something like that.
I gave the donation with the sum of Php 15,000 since Php 1,000 was used for the food. Grace to be Born gave me a book by Rey Ortega entitled: Crazy Love for The Poor as a token of appreciation.
We all had a fruitful day and I’m sure everyone had a great time. It was a different experience for each one and I bet for the moms too.
Thank you for the opportunity and God bless us all.
Grace To Be Born
53 Dr. Sixto Antonio Ave., Kapasigan, Pasig City
Tel No.: (02) 5010965
Contact Person: Mr. Rey Ortega and Mrs. Myrna Ortega
Facebook Page: Grace To Be Born Facebook Page
Website: Grace To Be Born Website
You can see the rest of the pictures in my Facebook Page: 2011 Birthday Project: Grace To Be Born
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