Written by Board Member, Ate Ren dela Cruz
One of the most amazing parts of being in the U! Happy Events team is getting to connect to various organizations and charities that are aligned with our mission of serving underprivileged children in the country. It is always a blessing as our network of partners grow, as we get to contribute in building a community for organizations and donors alike to build on that mission. Such was the case with Puno & Puno Law Office, who reached out to us for a Christmas event, which we did with the kids of Laura Vicuna Foundation, an NGO dedicated for streetchildren. This was the first time for us to have an event with Laura Vicuna.
Starting off the program was the customary getting-to-know between the kids and our volunteers, so that each group would get a chance to bond, and the ates and kuyas would be acquainted with the children. After building group rapport, it was time for an amazing magic show from one of U! Happy’s magicians pool — the energetic kuya Kobe. The kids and kids at heart had an amazing time enjoying the show, which was filled with both classic and new magic tricks!
The jampacked afternoon also consisted of gametime: to test each group’s speed and attention we had a game called Raise the Ball. In this activity, each member of the group is assigned a number. As they pass on a rubber ball along with the music, kuya Harvard then calls a number, and the group member with that number must then stand up and raise the ball. To add to everyone’s delight even more, a Bubble Show was also done, and the kids squealed in delight as huge bubbles appeared before their very eyes, with some kids and their ates and kuyas even getting inside the bubble!
Next up was an art workshop to get the kids’ creativity up. A popular notion during the Christmas season would be spending a lot to be able to buy presents and food for family and friends–with this in mind, we wanted to teach them the value of saving even during this season–getting them to create Snowman coin banks! Each kid had help from the volunteers, as they bonded in crafting their very own coinbanks.
Meals then followed, involving an appearance by the Jollibee mascot, to the kids’ surprise! Our kindhearted donors also gave away gifts for each child, which the children happily received. To cap off the amazing day, we had our group photo and the children then bade goodbye to the volunteers in the form of big bear hugs!
