pressrelease - New York, PCG

PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL NEW YORK
PRESS
RELEASE
PR-MDL-006-15
Community organizations shine light on humanitarian efforts
to help Typhoon Nona victims in first-ever fund-raising fair
Deputy Consul General Kira Danganan-Azucena (2nd from L) leads the ribbon-cutting to formally open the first ever fundraising fair to help victims of Typhoon Nona titled “Project Disaster Relief: Typhoon Nona” held at the Philippine Center
New York on 30 January 2015. She is joined by (L-R) Ms. Happy David of the Philippine Disaster Relief Foundation, Ms.
Nelsie Parrado of Handang Tumulong Foundation Inc., Ms. Potri Ranka Manis of Kinding Sindaw, and Mr. Cesar Loverita
of Volunteers of Northern Samar.
New York, 30 January 2016 - Four Filipino community organizations in New York
participated in the first ever fund-raising fair entitled “Project Disaster Response:
Typhoon Nona” held on 30 January 2016 at the Philippine Center in New York.
The participating organizations were Handang Tumulong Foundation, Inc.,
Volunteers
from
Northern
Samar,
Philippine
Disaster
Relief
Foundation and Kinding Sindaw.
The fund-raising fair entitled “Project Disaster Response: Typhoon Nona” gave an opportunity for community
organizations to reach out to prospective donors and for benefactors to easily give and contribute their time and money.
The one-day fair facilitated the various fund-raising and humanitarian efforts of
Filipino organizations and groups to help the victims of Typhoon Nona by giving them a
venue to reach out to prospective donors. At the same time, the fair helped prospective
donors to learn and be informed of the many humanitarian responses to the natural
disaster and make it easy for them to contribute their time and financial assistance.
Each participating organization was given a table at the Philippine Center
premises, where they displayed and distributed information materials about their
organization and their humanitarian efforts. They were also given a 20-minute segment
in the program to give a presentation and invite benefactors to support their cause. The
participating organizations took this time to talk about their organization and humanitarian
efforts and present video clips and photos of their activities.
A number of walk-ins, many of them non-Filipinos, visited the fair and were
enthusiastically entertained by the participating groups.
Founded in 2010, Handang Tumulong Foundation, Inc. (HTFI) raises funds to give
immediate help for victims of natural disasters wherever it occurs in the world, but with
special focus on the Philippines. It is a non-profit, 501 (C) (3) organization domiciled in
New Jersey. To date, HTFI has donated US$188,000 to various charities, parishes,
schools and organizations, most of them on the ground and in the forefront of helping
victims and in rebuilding the communities devastated by either typhoons, tornadoes,
floods and earthquakes.
The Volunteers from Northern Samar is an informal group of friends formed to
respond to the humanitarian needs of the victims of typhoon Nona situated in the
hinterland barangays in Laoang, Northern Samar that government resources had
difficulty reaching. The group is led by New York-based freelance photographer Cesar
Loverita, who coordinated with family members based in Northern Samar for the
purchase and distribution of relief goods to the affected families.
The Philippine Disaster Relief Foundation is a Manila-based private sector-led 501
( C ) (3) agency established in 2009 to raise funds to help devastated communities
recover from and be better prepared to face future calamities. It offers many donor
packages, including Adopt-A-Home that supports the rebuilding efforts of Gawad Kalinga
in Zamboanga.
Kinding Sindaw, a performing group engaged in showcasing and promoting
indigenous Philippine culture in Mindanao and a 501 (C)(3) group, joined the fund raising
fair not so much to raise funds as to focus attention to causes that aim to preserve and
protect the environment. Through special dance performances during the fair, Kinding
Sindaw underscored the role of the indigenous peoples as guardians of Mother Earth.
The group also pledged to partner with participating organizations by contributing the
troupe’s cultural performances in their future fund-raising projects.
During the fair, a check amounting to US$2,000 donated by the Philippine Chinese
Association was turned over by Deputy Consul General Azucena to HTFI. An acrylic-oncanvas 18x36 inch painting entitled “The Old Pulley” by Filipino artist Fernando Kabigting
worth US$1,500 donated by him was auctioned off, 70% of the proceeds of which would
go to HTFI. The other 30% would go to Mr. Kabigting’s program to help young artists in
the Philippines.
The Volunteers of Northern Samar received part of the Philippine Chinese
Association’s donation amounting to US$1,000 from HTFI. It has also received a
US$1,500.00 from Fil-Aid Foundation based in New Jersey.
To ensure transparency and accountability, guidelines were set that essentially
required full disclosure by the participating organizations about their organization, their
partner organization in the Philippines, their target beneficiaries and feedback
mechanisms for the donors.
The fund-raising fair attracted walk-in visitors, many of them non-Filipino, who were enthusiastically entertained by
the participating groups.
Deputy Consul General Kira Danganan-Azucena hands over a check amounting to US$2,500 donation from the Philippine
Chinese Association to Handang Tumulong Foundation, Inc. President Nelsie Parrado to help the victims of Typhoon
Nona. The Philippine Chinese Association, through the kindness of Ms. Jenny Kho, requested the Consulate General to
hand over the donation to Handang Tumulong Foundation Inc. on their behalf.