June 8 Invitation

Come join us in the fight against poverty! Help the kids dream big and reach their fullest potential! Let's take every opportunity to love and care for them. Feel free to share. God bless your week ahead! :)

Mind Museum Field Trip

We had an absolutely mind-blowing experience at the Mind Museum at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig!

The kids were all so excited to go.  It was their first ever time to go to Fort Bonifacio!

The museum is one of the best (if not the best) science museums in the country.  There are so many interactive exhibits that you can spend hours upon hours just learning about so many things.  And I don't mean the kids alone!

 We were so blessed to have 2 teachers with us - Shannon and Lyza!

Here are Jessica and Tricia enjoying the exhibits.

It was nothing short of hair-raising!

Afterwards, the children had fun in the playground outside.  Never a dull moment for them!

We thank whole-heartedly all of the donors that have made this event possible!  Thank you for Mind Museum giving a big discount for all of us, even the volunteers!  Thank you Ate Aileen for preparing the food and being the lone mom taking care of the kids.  Thank you Kuya Joey for arranging the ride!  Thank you Kuya Toto and Kuya Elmer for driving everyone there safely.  Thank you to the volunteers Diony, Jason, Shannon, Lyza, Ate Aileen, Hanzel, Jojo, Iam, Tina for making this an amazing experience!

Summer Sun Swimming Fun

Greetings Volunteer!

We're very sorry for the late advise.  We only managed to arrange everything

today as in today!!!

But the good news is that we will be fulfilling the kids' dream to go

swimming.  Finally!  After they've been asking this from us every

year since we've been with them.

This Saturday April 27, 2013 we will have the chance to give joy to the

children again!

Schedule:

1:30 PM Meet at He Cares Center at 9 Mines St., Proj. 6, QC

        Jeep will carry kids and some of us will have them hitch

        a ride going to Ateneo Grade School Swimming Pool (Katipunan Ave.)

    - orientation for swimming (proper behavior in the pool, very important!)

    - swimming fun and games

    - snacks will be served to kids (water) from our funds

We will end by around 3:30 pm       

(*vehicle-less volunteers, please proceed to Ateneo already

and the pool area will know it's our activity time there

under my name and He Cares foundation)

With the summer heat, this time will be a chance for the kids to

cool off.  We've asked Carmi Bonifacio to lead the water activities

for the children.  She has gracefully accepted!

Please bring:

P40 for entrance if you wish to swim with kids

swimsuit, if you're swimming

Water and snacks to share

This Saturday is coming and we hope that:

1. Everyone will be safe.

2. We will have the right number of kids 30 and 20 adults to watch them.

3. We will have sufficient refreshments for the whole gang.

4. That we won't have a problem with the swimming attire requirement.

5. That everyone will have fun!!!

More about the Ateneo pool:

Ateneo Grade School Tel. 4266001 local 7246
Entrance Fees PHP 40 (adult). The pool is open to the public on weekends only.
Capacity  - 50 +
8 lanes 35 meters long
Operating Hours: 9 to 11:30 am, 1:30-6:30 pm
Water Level -  3½f - 4.5 feet depth
Pool Size 25m x 15m, outdoors, unheated
*Swimming attire is required

Here are the upcoming 2013 schedules for future sessions.

May 11 & 25
May 18 (medical mission)
June 8 & 22
July 13 & 27
August 10 & 24
September 14  & 28
October 12 & 26
November 9 & 23
December 7 (christmas party)

This Saturday:

We are calling for more volunteers!  Everyone is invited. 

You don't have to be a youth worker / tutor / teacher. 

You just need to have a heart of compassion for these young ones.

If you have more questions please feel free to reply to me.

Please confirm if you are coming with Shannon at shannon_capati@yahoo.com

or text me at 0919-223-4936.

Blessings!

Christina Alejandro

Volunteer Coordinator

P.S.  If you cannot come this Saturday, please come next time!

*Please feel free to pass this e-mail invite to anyone who may be interested to join us!

Spreading Some Smiles

"Anong pangalan mo?" (What's your name?)

The big man tells his name.

A little girl 1/4 his size, inside a small car, hands over some snacks and a packet of milk to a tricycle driver and he looks a bit puzzled with what is going on.

The little girl become excited.

"Ako susunod!"  (Me next!) The little boy in the back seat says.

These children were tasked last April 13th, 2013 to give away some simple snacks to total random strangers. Strangers who they thought would benefit from some freebies.  The children are used to being given handouts from the foundation and from kind individuals but this is the first time in their lives that they are the ones giving out to those in need.

The bigger kids would leave the car and go to the people they would give it to.

They came away with light hearts.  They came away smiling and happy.

We want to thank everyone who donated goodies like biscuits, milk packets etc for these children to give away.  The experience they had was priceless!

He Cares Children Go Birdwatching!

We came out with this promo ad on Facebook and Google+ to get volunteers to teach something they know.

Fortunately, Maia and Jops of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, responded to the call.  They conducted a birdwatching for beginners session.

Here area some pictures with captions from Maila who facilitated the event.

They had a short introductory talk about birdwatching and the proper behavior when birding..  The children learning to use their bins properly

Spotting one of the favorite birds that afternoon: a Collared Kingfisher!

 Falling in line while waiting for their turn at the scope =)

Jun asking the very excited kids to fall in line

We also got to see a number of Brown Shrikes, which most kids described as "astig" =)

Very quickly, they started spotting birds by themselves.

Stickers coming up!!! 

Group photo by Jun Osano =)

Click here for more information on He Cares Foundation

Spread Some Smiles Day

It's Spread Some Smiles day this Saturday (April 13 afternoon only)! 

We're doing something special (a surprise) with the kids. 

If you want to join us, pls send me an e-mail for the day's activity. 

If you have a car, pls volunteer, e-mail tina at papemelroti dot com Thanks!!!

15 Benefits of Spending Time with the Children

We've been "voluntutoring" for over 4 years now and in short, it's been wonderful.  

We've noticed that:

• the children are more lively
• the children are more confident relating with adults
• the children are able to express themselves better
• many of the children are striving for higher grades now compared to before
• the children dream big(ger) now more than ever before (one of them wanted to just pass Grade 3 because that was where his mom stopped schooling!)
• the children are more artistic and creative (many of the children whom we tutor won in a contest and their art is featured in a 2013 calendar)
• the children dress better and generally look better than when we started
• people have been so tremendously generous with this service and most of the time, they just donate toys / money / school materials / clothes without even being asked!
• God provides.  We noticed that many times, when the tutor volunteers are few, the children will have some kind of makeup class in school so only a few come!!!  So we don't get too many children per tutor.  Thank you Lord!  We also got to go to many neat places in these 4 years without much fundraising at all (Manila Ocean Park, Planetarium, Science Center, National Museum, Intramuros, Museo Pambata etc) and many of these establishments gave us free passes or discounts, wow right?

at Manila Planetarium

BUT...!!!  Not only do the children get benefits, also us volunteers have a lot of benefits!!!

Here are some benefits we've seen through the years.

1. The children make us laugh with their unexpected antics.
2. When you work with children, you get younger (in heart and in looks!).
3. We get to meet new people (the children, other volunteers, families of kids).
4. We develop a heart of compassion for the children and their families, as well as the public educational system.
5. We get to flex our patience muscles and make them bigger ;)
6. We get to go see fun places!
7. We get better at relating with children.
8. We get to share what we know and have a sense of fulfillment from that.
9. We get to try something new.
10. We get challenged to handle more than one child (not for beginners, don't worry!)
11. If you're single, the chance to be with children.  If you want to have a child one day, this is the perfect practice activity!
12. If you're a parent, this is a way to learn and grow in your skills.
13. Some volunteers bring their children to help tutor.  Their children learn the values of sharing, teaching, kindness, caring for others, and generosity.
14. Some students get to finish their social action class requirements with us.
15. We go home from the sessions with an incredible, inexplicable feeling of JOY!

I'm sure there are more benefits I've left out but suffice to say that indeed each volunteer is a blessing and is blessed.

This Saturday March 23, 2013 we will have the chance to touch the life of someone in need once again.  With 50+ children in 1 class, it is a rare thing for them to have

one to one attention.  Their homes lack space and light so it's quite difficult to study

in such an environment.  Their parents are away working hard to make a living.

The streets are more inviting to play in.

Just 2 hours to encourage them that learning can be enjoyable (or that it is

possible to understand) is more than enough. Seeing people who care is enough.

Please join us on:

March 23, 2013 (Saturday)

1-3 pm

3rd floor, Brgy. Bungad

*near Baler St. and West Ave. QC 

If you cannot be there but want to help, we need:

+ scratch paper

+ lesson plans / activity sheets (grades 1 to 2nd yr high)

This Saturday is coming and we hope that:

1. We will have enough tutors for the 28 children enrolled in the program.

2. That that children will be able to learn and excel in school.

3. That the tutors will enjoy their session with the children and take home wonderful memories.

Here are the latest 2013 schedules for future sessions.

March 23
April 13 & 27 (field trip outings)
May 11 & 25
May 18 (medical mission)
June 8 & 22
July 13 & 27
August 10 & 24
September 14  & 28
October 12 & 26
November 9 & 23
December 7 (christmas party)

This Saturday:

We are calling for more volunteers!  Everyone is invited. 

You don't have to be a tutor.  You just need to have a

heart of compassion for these young ones.

What will we teach?  Primarily English and Math.  If you

are able to teach other subjects that is great but we don't

require professional tutors.  What we need are people

who are encouraging and positive for the children to

emulate.

How?  Come and the children will ask you about their

homework or you can tell them a story or do some simple

arithmetic with them. 

Please consider coming.  When we lack tutors, we cannot give

the attention they badly need since we have to tutor 2 or 3 or

4 students at a time.  We aim to have one child to one tutor.

If you have more questions please feel free to reply to me.

Please confirm if you are coming so we can assign you a child

to Shannon at shannon_capati@yahoo.com.

Blessings!

Christina Alejandro

Volunteer Coordinator

P.S.  If you cannot come this Saturday, please come next time!

*Please feel free to pass this e-mail invite to anyone who may be interested to join us!