Servathon: Volunteers’ day for community

Many were up at dawn in a race to repaint a Port Area daycare center by sunrise.

A record 3,500 employees from 28 corporations on Saturday repainted classrooms, playgrounds and libraries for street children, continuing the spirit of volunteerism of the Hands on Manila (HoM) Servathon launched six years ago by HoM.

The volunteers, mostly denim-clad young professionals wearing T-shirts with the two-handed HoM logo, fired up the SMX convention hall with their youthful energy and enthusiasm.

“You have given up your Friday gimmicks to wake up so early,” noted HoM president Junie del Mundo in his welcome remarks.

A higher purpose

This little sacrifice, he said, showed that behind the culture of materialism, young people are “looking for a higher purpose in life.”

The HoM Servathon is a day of community service that mobilizes thousands of volunteers to work together in addressing critical, social, educational and environmental needs in the Metro Manila area and in some of the neighboring provinces.

During the Servathon day, corporations, through their team of volunteers, undertake various service projects simultaneously in different organizations and areas in Metro Manila.

Del Mundo said HoM “makes use of youthful energy” while harnessing the “influential” business sector, especially the 28 corporations that support HoM.

A two-hour volunteer work in the Servathon, Del Mundo said, was a good step towards a “lifetime of commitment to volunteerism.”

From painting to gardening

The largest number of volunteers on Saturday, totalling 420, came from JP Morgan Chase and Co. They volunteered to repaint and refurbish four day care centers and one health center in the Baseco district of Port Area, Manila. They also painted a mural at the Baseco barangay hall and a mural at the Baseco compound entrance gate.

Led by senior country officer Roberto Panlilio and senior Karen de Venecia, the JP Morgan Chase contingent also volunteered to do a “malunggay nursery gardening” in Baseco.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer volunteers, led by president Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, painted the ceiling and walls of the reception area of the Welcome House in Paco, Manila.

Welcome House is a shelter for young women who are victims of sexual and physical abuse. At least five of the center’s wards are complainants in a sexual abuse case against a father or stepfather, said Sister Pilar Verzosa, who heads Welcome House.

Welcome House is run by the Good Shepherd nuns with assistance from the Philippine General Hospital, Department of Social Welfare and Development and other charitable institutions.

A first-time Servathon volunteer, Wells Fargo did the floor tiling and painting of the concrete walls of the Nueve de Pebrero Elementary School in Mandaluyong.

Another newcomer, the Value Quest Securities, painted a mural at the Development Endeavors for Organized Sustainability daycare center in Las Piñas.

Still another newcomer, the Puyat Jacinto and Santos Law Office did a soccer clinic with the kids of Childhope Asia in Quezon City.

The rest of the Servathon volunteers were employees from the Senate, Romulo Law Office, Pancake House, Central Azucarera de Don Pedro, Converga, CIBO, Ortigas & Co., True Value, Far Eastern University, Development Bank of the Philippines, Megaworld Corp., Zoe Villanueva, LBC Express, EON, Thomson Reuters, Manila Hotel, LBC Foundation, BPI Foundation, Globe Telecom, Planters Bank, Rockwell Land Corp., PTC, Chevron and ADP Phil.