If one thing is important to us, it’s giving back. In May 2021, Boldr started a fundraising campaign to support Community Pantries initiative in the Philippines. Through the support that we gained from various stakeholders, clients, anonymous donors, and partner organizations, we’re happy to share that we’ve mobilized a number of community pantries led by our very own team members.
What We’ve Accomplished
Since the launch of this fundraising campaign, we’ve raised more than $15,000. These resources have helped support over 20 community pantries in different regions in the Philippines. This means we have been able to help more than 2,000 Filipino families.
More About Meetup, Our Positive Impact Partner
Meetup is not only one of our impact partners, but also a long-time client. It’s a platform that connects people who share interests. And it has proven its interest in giving back by extending its support through a generous corporate donation. Additionally, Meetup is providing us with a complimentary Meetup Pro subscription! This allows Boldr to organize Meetup events in multiple cities, aiding in building a strong community that meets in-person to support all of the Community Pantries and events.
Launching Social Dialogues: COVID-19
Thanks to Meetup’s support, we were able to launch our first Social Dialogue: The Social Impact of COVID-19. During this event, we centered around how COVID-19, despite all of the inconveniences, deaths, and other tragedies it has caused, has also helped countries and communities respond to the socio-economic changes brought by the pandemic. As an audience, we were able to convene over 30 participants across the Philippines, Mexico, and South Africa. A booming success.
What We Discovered
30 heads are better than one. During this meetup, we discovered the following key insights.
From South Africa
Our friends from South Africa shared how their tourism and hospitality sectors were among the hardest hit. This has forced many working in the industry to diversify their economic options, learn new trends, and adjust on the fly.
From Mexico
One of our team members in Mexico expressed how he was in the middle of starting up a business. Just as it was beginning to pick up, COVID-19 reversed all the progress made throughout this endeavor.
From All Over The World
Yet, despite these setbacks, one common theme prevailed amongst most participants: gratefulness. For the safety of their family members. For the reminder that health is above all else. For having found new employment opportunities, despite the economical obstacles. Another shared thought shone through: it was critical for those with employment opportunities to lend a hand to those who did not. Meaning, giving back.
There are many intersections and overlaps in how the pandemic has affected every sector of society. From good to bad, there is not a single person whose life hasn’t been altered by COVID-19. The only thing left for us to decide is what we want to do from now on. And we’ve decided to learn from this experience and pave the way for helping others.
Our Grain Of Sand as we Support Community Pantries
Powered by Meetup’s donation, we actively reached out to its team members in the Philippines to submit community pantries for Boldr to support. We are also very proud to report that our own Boldr team members have been actively supporting community pantries of their own across Metro Manila, Luzon, and Eastern Visayas!
Here are some of the highlights of the Boldr-led pantry initiative in the past months.
📍 Binangonan Community Pantry
Rose Mabuti, one of Boldr’s Service Delivery Managers, personally organized a community pantry at Brgy. Pag-asa, Binangonan Rizal that ran for a weekend. This is the second community pantry that their family initiated. Through our support, they were able to give packs of goods (rice, canned goods, eggplant, eggs, coffee, instant noodles, mangoes) to 420 families.
📍 Guagua Community Pantry
We supported the Guagua Community Pantry endorsed by Michelle Nobleza-Canlas. Our donation, coupled with that of other donors, provided 515 individuals and their families 2 kilos of rice and 3 packs of noodles.
📍 Lumban Community Pantry
We supported the community pantry in Lumban, Laguna, endorsed by Marissa Dela Cruz. Over 200 individuals benefited from the pantry, which was stocked with rice, bread, eggs, groceries, and vegetables. Yum!
📍 Mansalay Community Pantry
The students of Cagulong Elementary School in Oriental Mindoro received stationery supplies, snacks, and COVID essentials on June 9th. This pantry was co-organized by school principal Mr. Jerry Varona, father of Boldr Implementations Manager, Chatty Varona. Over the course of a day, 510 guardians collected goods on behalf of the kids.
📍 Dingalan Community Pantry
We supported a community pantry in Dingalan, a third-class municipality in Aurora. Dingalan thrived as a surf town prior to the pandemic, meaning its economy was extremely affected during the lockdown processes. This pantry sees an average of 30 people daily, and our small donation was able to reach some 180 individuals and their families.
📍 Infanta Community Pantry
The Infanta Community Pantry in Pangasinan provided grocery packs to 60 tricycle and pedicab drivers. Boldr Team Member Lorilie Quetua shares, “People here rely mainly on fishing and planting vegetables in their backyards, so this rainy season is a huge concern to them. A community pantry even this small is already a big help to the families.”
📍 Metro Manila Community Pantry
On June 26th, we delivered groceries and fresh produce to 10 Community Pantries in Metro Manila, with the support of friends from Mobile in MNL.
- Our volunteer bikers donated to Isabela’s Birthday Pantry with Boldr Team Member Maria Uy. They also dropped donations at Ilang-Ilang Ususan Community Pantry.
- We supported the Bagyo Clan Community Pantry in Pateros, led by the family of Boldr team member Francis Corpuz. More than 50 individuals lined up for donations, mostly tricycle drivers.
- Caniogan Community Pantry, led by Team Member Melissa Gonzales, brought smiles to 40 families in the neighborhood.
- The Kamias and Botocan pantries were contemplating ceasing operations, but our support was able to further extend their operations. They have remained open for 70 days.
- In the Sta. Ana Community Pantry in Manila, our donations were spread over the course of three days, with an estimated 65 people coming to the pantry daily.
- The Sulyap ng Pag-Asa Community Pantry in Quezon City helped put food on the table for 50 families for a day.
The Takeaway
Our work in supporting the Community Pantries is far from over. We will continue to channel our donors’ generous contributions to existing pantries across the Philippines.
In the same spirit of our Social Dialogue, we at Boldr are also grateful that we were able to give back. This first pantry drive was made possible by our partnership with Meetup, their generous donation, and their genuine wish to positively impact the areas that needed it the most. As for us, we will continue to support our communities, wherever and whenever we can. If you would to learn more about our social impact partners or want to see what else we’ve been up to, check out our other articles here.
