More than 1,300 schoolchildren from three different schools have benefited from the corporate social responsibility activities undertaken recently by the Ayala Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Inc. on the occasion of its 19th anniversary celebration.
The schoolchildren come from different barangays around Clark Air Base and from the Dirita-Baloguen Elementary School in Iba, Zambales that Coop personnel and Coop HR coordinators visited last October 17.
A total of 1,000 school kits were distributed to grade school pupils, all of them belonging to the katutubo group of Aetas living in barangays located around the sprawling 4,500 hectare former Clark Air Base in Pampanga, which is being administered by Clark Development Corporation. CDC, in partnership with Clark Water Company and the Coop, made the visit and activity possible.
A program at the CDC Parade Grounds where the CSR activity took place was held, with CWC HR Manager Precious David, CDC EAD Assistant Manager Rommel Narciso and Coop GM Dina Orosa took turns speaking about the benefits of partnering in such activities to help the less fortunate sector. CWC GM Jesus Laigo also attended the activity
The Coop’s personnel, along with the Coop’s HR coordinators as well as personnel from Ayala companies in the area and CDC representatives, also treated the schoolchildren and volunteers to a Jollibee lunch after the program.
The Coop team then proceeded to Iba, Zambales for the Coop’s Adopt a School Program, where they distributed school kits to 270 more schoolchildren of the Dirita Elementary School. Also being donated under the program were nursery books, crayons, coloring books and other paraphernalia, all of which were handed to some 80 nursery pupils.
In addition, a projector and a screen were also donated to the school while a donation for the repair of the school’s dilapidated ceiling was also made by the Coop. Dirita Elementary School principal Amor Frontecilla received the donations on behalf of the school while barangay captain Romelino Gojo and his wife Remy also witnessed their handover.
To complete the CSR activity, Coop personnel and the Coop’s HR coordinators distributed Jollibee snacks to the children and volunteers.
Meanwhile, the Coop also undertook a field trip for its Learning English Through Stories (L.E.T.S.) Read scholars last October 22 with a visit to The Mind Museum. The Coop tied up with the J. Rizal and F. Benitez Elementary Schools as well as the non-government organization Corazon Atayde Memorial Foundation to bring some 160 scholars to the field trip that took them to the popular destination at Bonifacio Global City.
Also part of the 200-strong group were volunteer teachers, school representatives and Coop personnel.
Prior to the school CSR activities, Coop personnel and volunteers also took part in the Manila Bay Cleanup Drive held last October 11 at the famed but notoriously polluted seashore. The activity, which was organized by the Cooperative Development Authority in celebration of the Cooperative anniversary month, is in its second year.
The Ayala Coop also took part in the event’s inception last year, and cleaning supplies and equipment, transportation and meals this time were again provided to the participants by the Coop.