Written by Vice President for External, Kuya Glenn Costales
It was a quick reunion last October 1 when we once again got together with the curious and joyful kids of The Heart at Play Foundation. Ate Denise, our sponsor, gathered all of us at a popular fast food chain along East Avenue in Quezon City to celebrate her birthday with 25 kids. We had spent time with most of these kids a few weeks earlier for a similar celebration. I guess the joy of their company was apparent because some of our volunteers then came back to spend time with these kids again. The Heart at Play Foundation is a group committed to providing innovative and unique activities to help develop special kids’ physical and interactive capabilities.
One thing about the kids of Heart at Play is that they are always eager for some activity. A couple of games kept these kids company while waiting for the event to formally start. When it finally did, the kids got acquainted with their dashing ates and kuyas for the day.
The volunteers were distributed into different groups with about 3-4 kids, including their parents/ guardians who were equally excited about the day ahead. After several minutes to get to know the kids, we played the always entertaining Show-Me-Your-Face game. This game is one of our originals and we use this when we don’t really have a lot of space to move around. The volunteers and kids simply had to use their awesome faces to come up with their most creative look to best express the given situation. These situations included being in a super-hot place, feeling very sleepy, seeing a famous celebrity and experiencing some, well, diarrhea. In the end, one of groups had the most convincing faces and won the game.
The event then proceeded to its main activity – the Art Workshop. Ate Blanca, one of U’s resident artists, led the entire group as our Art Teacher for this part of the program. She taught the kids how to make a Dog Origami Art using colored papers, popsicle sticks and other materials. It was a simple art piece to create yet was very engaging and stimulating for the kids. The volunteers also assisted their kids all throughout the workshop.
A delightful set of snacks finally made their way into our venue with the activities completed. The kids enjoyed a sumptuous serving of a well-loved fast food meal, with some desserts to boot.
After that, the kids lined up to receive their gifts from Ate Denise. She had prepared some vibrant loot bags with some sweets and other tasty treats for the kids of Heart at Play. With their gifts in hand, the kids gamely posed with their ates and kuyas for a final photo before saying good bye.
We again wish Ate Denise a happy birthday. We sincerely thank her, her friends and family, and all the volunteers for indeed having the heart to play – and care – for our very special set of kids. May God continue to bless U all abundantly!
