This year’s marketmanila.com feeding program has raised roughly PHP520,000 (almost $11,000) so far!!! That will provide some 22,000+ meals for undernourished public school children through next November 2009! A huge thank you to the generous donors who came to the various pick up points and left generous donations and picked up the Christmas ornaments that we featured here. Roughly 140 people dropped off donations at the various pick up points and contributed some PHP120,000. Another 50+ donors from around the world and all over the Philippines transferred some PHP170,000+ to the account set-up with the principal of the beneficiary school in Cebu. Close friends and family (including efforts of Sister in New York) raised another 230,000 or so, for a total of PHP520,000! I know many of the donors want to be anonymous, but I just have to say that I am stunned most by the donors whom I do not know or have not met at all, and who have sent extremely generous sums at $500 or so… the children are most grateful, and I thank you for your trust in this simple charitable effort.
One of the large donors from the U.S. asked for a special favor that instead of meals, their donation would be used to bring some Christmas cheer to the kids at the Cebu school that we are helping. Along with other donors who gave up ornaments, and still others who emailed, we decided to dovetail a small treat for EVERY SINGLE STUDENT at the school during their Christmas party day last Friday, December 19. We arranged for the local distributor of Nestle ice cream to deliver 1,000+ individually wrapped (we learned our lesson from the scooping nightmare with the dirty ice cream vendors the last time we did this) ice cream treats to the school and we were there to distribute the treats to the kids. Distribution went much more smoothly than the last time, and the treats were gone in less than 30 minutes.
The kids had not been warned in advance. Suddently, this truck was parked in the middle of the field and yikes! free ice cream just because. I cannot describe to you just how happy many of these kids were to get this goody… and I am certain that the donor will see from these photos that it was a very nice thing to do indeed…
I recognize that this is a dole out, and cannot in any way really help to fix the underlying problems of poverty and lack of nutrition. But that isn’t the point. The point is it was Christmas, and isn’t it just plain nice to share a little something with those who would otherwise be unable to manage the treat for themselves. We had several extra ice creams so we managed to give all of the teachers and lots of the other neighborhood kids a treat as well!
It was very close to dismissal time so the kids took their treat and headed home with a smile on their faces…
Edik, a Cebu-based reader of this blog, who has joined us for feeding programs before, also joined us for this distribution of ice creams.
If you would like to contribute to the feeding program, the account to which you can forward donations is detailed here. If you are abroad, XOOM seems to be a favorite option for remitting funds. If you are in the Philippines, just make a deposit at any BDO branch, and you should NOT be charged any fees. I promise that 100% of your donations will be used for the feeding programs. All administrative costs, etc. are my donation to the program. A PHP1,000 peso donation will provide between 40-50 meals for the kids. Also, for those concerned, I will simply split the proceeds of the fund raising to provide assistance to the two schools in the program, one in Taguig, the other in Cebu.
As another year comes to a close, and we reflect on all of the wonderful blessings we have received, I will probably most fondly recall the several visits to the public schools that have benefitted from the generosity of marketmanila’s readers this past year. From the bottom of my heart, and in behalf of the hundreds of kids you have helped, THANK YOU. This is absolutely the core of that inexplicable Christmas spirit that makes this such a wonderful season in the Philippines… :)
19 Responses
As always…BRAVO!!!! to you, your family and crew. You are all simply awesome!!!
Merry Christmas to all!!
MM, you are the power and energy behind the project … and again, I envy you.
Wow! Nakakahawa talaga ang Xmas spirit. How exciting to hear the results of the fundraising. Sana hindi kayo magsawa, MM kahit hindi sya ang pinakamadaling bagay na ayusin. Sana ay ma-engganyo kayo sa suporta ng mga tao. Nawa ay pagpalain ng panginoon ang lahat ng mabubuti nyong gawain. Maligayang Pasko sa inyo at sa lahat ng mang babasa!
MM, I am so happy to see people like you, to share their blessings.And for the generous kababayan,thank you for all your efforts.We can not depend on our government to solve all our problems.This spirit of giving will forever stay in all our hearts
Hi MM,
I commend you for your efforts and am quite interested in contributing. My apologies if I missed it in previous posts, but I was wondering how you came about to choosing the two schools that you contribute to.
Again, it’s an amazing, noble thing thing that you’re doing and it sounds like you are making a difference. Thanks for all that you do.
Thanks,
-MJ
this is soooo heatwarming! And quite a change from the depressing news around…just that I read a lot of animal pets given up (in the US) to animal shelters just because the owners cannot keep up with the expenses anymore!…and that there just is no more room for them either!
Thanks for lifting my spirits, MM and family!
Merry Christmas!
This is the perfect Christmas note, happy kids, ice cream, generosity from people… thanks MM and family and crew and all the marketmanila readers who contribute to the daily magic of this online community. I hope everyone has a peaceful Christmas, may your bellies be full of good food, drink, and your favorite dessert.
Thank you very much MM, your family, your crew, volunteers of feeding program. I am proud to have known you all even it is just virtually. MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!
all along i thought it was another feeding program. i never knew until MM told me on the way to the school, that the whole school will have free ice cream! i was drooling myself.
so nice indeed to see faces of happy children. if i were a kid in banawa, this would mean a very rare treat.
https://edikdolotina.blogspot.com/2008/12/if-i-were-kid.html
thanks to you MM and the very generous people out there.
Bless you MM, your family, crew, your readers and all who have contributed to your feeding programs.
I LOVE Christmas, but sometimes, the hassles that accompany it — like this afternoon, when the crowds, traffic, and difficulty getting a cab (especially, cab drivers’ un-Christmas-like attitudes) — make me love it a bit less. But reading this post brought back all the warm holiday feelings in me. I would be way too shy to do this in person, and you would certainly be mortified, but I’d like to send you a big, virtual (((HUG))) for this wonderful thing you’ve done, MM! :-)
You brought joy and cheer to these children. That is a big jump for them from dirty ice cream cart to international brand of dairy products Nestle that is a real treat for them.
great job MM! good to make EB with you at salcedo, hope you enjoy the callisons… joyeux noel!
mikel, thank you VERY mch for the callisons, they are wonderful. I was meaning to do a post on the pick up points and the folks I met, but it got overshadowed by holiday craziness. I hope you have a WONDERFUL Christmas, and thanks again for the goody!
Your spirit of love for others blesses you MM…awesome!!
Like Katrina…I’d like to give you a virtual hug for your goodness…and I ask the Lord to continually bless you…you are an inspiration!!
We are lucky to be part of the MM family!!!Merry Christmas!!
Merry Christmas MM & Family, and Friends =)
Merry Christmas to you, MM and family. Could not make it to the pick up dates but deposited my small donation through BDO. You are doing a wonderful job!
Is a very great thing you are doing for those in need. Daghang salamat!!!
hi mm WOULD YOU HAVE ANOTHER