EXTRAORDINARY deeds by ordinary people can make a positive change. It can be a retiree who trains the unemployed women in the community on livelihood crafts, or the group of athletes that holds sports clinics for streetchildren.
Smart Communications Inc. is giving these acts of kindness a further boost through the payITfwd, a new social development initiative that aims to spread social good acts or ‘smart acts’ using technology.
Through the initiative, Smart is looking for individuals or groups that are already doing community-based projects that contribute to learning or enhancement of knowledge in various fields such as education, environment, disaster preparedness, health, livelihood and sports.
Entries must be submitted in video format showing an overview of the project and its impact to the community.
Smart will be selecting the best 20 entries in a two-round selection process on July 31, and on Aug. 16 to Oct. 31.
Entries will be judged based on the impact of the project to the community, its novelty and proposed use of technology.
Online voting will also have bearing on the final score of entries.
Each of the selected social good advocates, 10 for each round, will receive a technology package comprising five tablets, 1 Smart Bro Pocket Wi-Fi, Smart Bro load worth P3,000 and P50,000 cash prize.
“The goal is to support, promote, expand, enhance, reward and enable social good efforts that foster learning through technology. With payITfwd, social good advocates can scale up and even encourage the public to support their cause,” said Ramon Isberto, head of Smart Public Affairs Group.
“The program will allow participants to report what they have already done and are targeting to achieve with the help of technology, which uses Smart’s technology solutions to help the spread of social good,” said Stephanie Orlino, Smart Public Affairs manager for education programs.
“Technology not only increases access to learning but enables these smart acts to spread its benefits to more communities thus keeping the ‘good’ going,” added Orlino.
For further information, visit website www.smart.com.ph/payITfwd.