Written by Core Team Leader, Issa Gayatin
On my second time of visit to Jesus Loves the Little Children Foundation in Pasig City, I was a bit surprised to see the that the ceilings of their stadium have heat insulator. The place has been improved to be more conducive for school gatherings and social activities. When I got there, I saw Lucy, the one who leads the foundation, were busily fixing the tables needed for the event. Her joyful attitude is eminent in her as she greeted me and explained about the activity. After a while, Ate Karol, the beautiful birthday celebrant came with a bunch of volunteers including her family. We had more than 20 volunteers that afternoon including her Tita, which is a senior citizen.
As soon as they’re done registering, my energetic co-host, Rich and I started the event. We asked all the volunteers to come in front to meet their partner kids.There were a total of 38 kids so most of the volunteers had 2 kids each to assist. We then made 5 groups from them. Rich then asked them to share their likes and dislikes to each other and to make a group cheer. Everyone got excited upon hearing that and truth be told, their group presentations were remarkable. There is even one group who made a choreography of their cheer. It was such fun thing to see.
Then it was time for the acting workshop to be conducted by none other than our in-house acting workshop leader, Rich. He has been performing in theatre arts and doing acting and training workshops in different companies for many years already. The first thing he did as a start is warming up the group by doing a series of body gestures. It wasn’t an ordinary type of warming up like the one for physical exercise. Seen below are the photos that showed how joyful and interesting this activity was. It is very useful especially for those who want to enter theatre arts or showbiz. Acting workshop is one way also of boosting up one’s confidence. Everybody participated in this fun-filled activity.
After everyone learned the basics of acting, it was time for them to apply it. We had a game called Act a video. In this game, you will have to act out a specific scenario. Rich gave out 5 scenarios, all of which was played out well by each groups. A lot of faces become comical so much so I hardly talk without bursting into laughter. What I like the most is the rock concert scenario. There was a group who had one person being carried up by the party people like the one in the Rock of Ages movie. The group who used the kids as their instruments won the game. Creativity also spurred. Evidently,they learned from the workshop but what is more enjoyable is that the volunteers were able to share the learning to the kids. They were all smiles as they spend their time with the kids. Volunteerism is also about sharing good moments and valuing relationships. Life becomes better and fulfilling when dealings with people are being valued. That’s when people remember the times you shared to them.
After that, we shared sumptuous meals with each other. There’s also yummy local ice cream and photo booth that Ate Karol sponsored. The volunteers had their photos taken with the kids. Actually, I had 5 photos with them. It was very memorable I kept the photos in my room. Before we ended the event, we distributed loot bags of candies and school supplies and sang happy birthday to Ate Karol, who was very grateful to have shared her birthday with the kids. During her speech, she said it was her daughter who introduced U! Happy events to her. You are a blessing to us and to the kids of Jesus Loves, Ate Karol! Thank you for making these kids happy and we hope to see you in our next events.
