Bata, through SM Foundation, donates shoes for PGH frontliners

Bata, a world-renowned shoe brand with over 6,000 retail stores across the globe, partnered anew with SM Foundation (SMFI) in donating 1,800 pairs of shoes for the front -liners of the Philippine General Hospital. This is part of Bata's Global 1 Million pairs donation project.

Due to long and often times back-to-back work shifts, a number of our health workers are experiencing foot and back pain, says SM Foundation Executive Director Debbie Sy.  “The need to constantly disinfect their shoes also results in faster wearing out of their footwear. With this, SMFI and Bata wanted to provide our health workers with quality footwear to address this need and provide them with comfortable footwear and protection while at work and doing their rounds.

“Bata Philippines donated these shoes as our way of saying thank you to our front-liners for the help that they have extended to the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Bata Philippines General Manager Arlyn Guanlao.

UP PGH Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi expressed his gratitude to SM Foundation and Bata, I'd like to thank SM Foundation for being ever supportive of our COVID-19 fight here in PGH. You have covered the whole spectrum of our needs from ventilators and now sneakers. Thank you to Bata shoes for having shared their different kinds of sneakers which I'm sure would go a long way into making our front- liners feel appreciated and comfortable when they work.

Since the onset of the outbreak, Bata through its Bata Heroes initiative has been working with its long-standing foundations, charitable partners, government agencies, and other organization to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through the years, SMFI and Bata have been collaborating on social good projects. In 2018, they teamed up to construct a new school building for Telabastagan Integrated School in San Fernando, Pampanga. More recently, in March

2020 for the distribution of 400 pairs of shoes for the students of Looc Elementary School in Nasugbu, Batangas.

SM Stationery donates school supplies to children

SM Stationery recently donated school supplies to ChildHope Philippines and Caritas Manila, to support the education initiatives of these non-government organizations for less fortunate children. While schools are not yet open, ChildHope and Caritas have come up with innovative programs to educate the young.

Each of the kits distributed by SM Stationery, the school and office supplies department of The SM Store, includes envelopes, notebooks, crayons, rulers, writing pads, ballpoint pens and pencils.

ChildHope Philippines has already helped in the distribution of the school supplies to poor communities in Marikina, and has worked with community and youth leaders to train mothers so that they can teach their kids basic writing, reading and life skills during the quarantine.  Jem Tumbaga, Resource Mobilization and Communications Officer of ChildHope Philippines, said the other school supplies will be used in their EduKit Project and street learning sessions.

“By donating essential school supplies, SM Stationery has helped ease the burden for these children and their parents, especially now that we are facing a severe health, education and economic crisis,” Tumbaga said.

Caritas Manila, the leading social arm of the Archdiocese of Manila, on the other hand, will use the donations to help its scholars, and sell the other donations in their Segunda Mana stores The proceeds of the sale will be used to fund its projects to help not just students but also poor families struggling because of COVID-19. The SM Group has been regular donor to Caritas Manila’s COVID-19 relief efforts and its Youth Service Leadership and Education Program.


SM Stationery’s donations complement the active participation of The SM Group in providing relief to frontliners and communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

SM Stationery, which offers a wide range of school and office supply products, is now open in The SM Store branches nationwide. For more updates on its products and its Call to Deliver service, follow its social media pages @smstationeryph on Facebook and Instagram or join its Viber community.

Serenitea creates #MomentsOfCompassion on its 10th anniversary

With ten years of prosperity and success under its belt, Serenitea believes that it’s time to give back and share the blessings to the community that put them on the map. As a culmination of its 10th anniversary celebration, Serenitea launched its initiative called #MomentsOfCompassion, which started Last October, 2018.

The founders of Serenitea, Juliet Chen (General Manager-North) and Jennifer Wong (General Manager-South) believe that compassion is the cornerstone of humankind. The founders believe that anyone can help make the world better in their own little way, whether through
charitable acts of service or donations. Furthermore, these little acts contribute to a bigger purpose or a greater good.

What makes this campaign special is that customers are involved in this endeavor because the brand believes that customers are an integral part of the Serenitea family. Customers joined by purchasing any of the Brown Sugar series items: Pearl and Grass Jelly Brown Sugar (a concoction made with luscious brown sugar ice, chewy pearls, grass jelly, and cream that’s inspired by a Taiwanese dessert served in a cup); Pearl Brown Sugar Taho (a chilled Taho sweetened with luscious brown sugar ice and topped with freshly cooked chewy pearls); Pearl Brown Sugar with Holly’s Milk (a concoction made with chewy pearls drenched in luscious brown sugar syrup mixed with creamy premium farm fresh milk); and Pearl Brown Sugar (a concoction made with chewy pearls drenched in luscious brown sugar syrup,
mixed with creamy premium farm fresh milk, topped with our Signature Cheese Frost and generously sprinkled with Muscovado). The Brown Sugar series is one-of-a-kind because of its creamier taste without an overpowering sweetness. More so, the inclusion of a popular Filipino
treat such as taho is also a way to take a beloved Pinoy street snack a notch higher for a cozy teashop.

Richard Juan spent the afternoon with kids from Bahay Aruga

This year, Serenitea chose Bahay Aruga as the sole beneficiary for its #MomentsOfCompassion campaign this year.

A portion of sales from this line from October to December 2018 donated to Bahay Aruga. As it continues to celebrate its 10th anniversary in business, Serenitea will continue its mission to serve the best tea, coffee, and snacks in town, while giving back and improving the lives of others through charitable works.

To know more about Serenitea’s upcoming events and activities, follow Serenitea on
Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/iloveserenitea, or on Instagram at
http://instagram.com/iloveserenitea. You may also visit their website at www.iloveserenitea.com/.