Fans of celebrity couple Enrique Gil and Save the Children Philippines ambassador Liza Soberano raised funds to provide families and children with learning kits that contain hygiene and learning supplies, including printed parenting materials on Positive Discipline to help them cope with the new normal.
Donations came in through Soberano’s “I Pledge to Save the Children” fundraiser and from tickets to the virtual LizQuen Fans’ Day for the benefit of the organization, amounting to a total of Php 500,000.
“Its been almost two years since we last bonded with LizQuen supporters, and although we have done it virtually this time, we are really happy that we got to spend time with them while helping children in need,” said Gil.
The virtual fans day included games, question and answer portion, as well as a short treat from Liza and Enrique acting famous lines from their movies and teleseryes.
“My advocacy for children is dear to me and I am proud of how generous and kind my supporters are. We have all gone through different challenges during the pandemic but it is inspiring to see a community come together to create a positive impact for Filipino children and families who are in dire need of support,” said Soberano.
Prior to the pandemic, surveys show that 76% of children globally experience physical and humiliating punishment at home. COVID-19 has magnified this risk, placing children and their caregivers under increased pressure. Save the Children Philippines is providing parents and caregivers with family kits and other essential support to ensure that every child can grow up in a nurturing home that is conducive for their growth and development while adapting to the new normal.
Hope for their Future
Aside from COVID-19, some of the long-running factors hindering Filipino children from having a healthy childhood are hunger and malnutrition. The Philippines ranks 9th in the world for having the most stunted children – or those too short for their age, with 95 child deaths every day due to malnutrition, based on recent reports.
Hope for their Future is Save the Children’s latest fundraising campaign, led by its ambassador Liza Soberano. This will allow the organization to monitor the nutritional status of young children especially in the first two years of a child’s life which is considered a critical window of opportunity for their growth and development. Individuals are encouraged to donate any amount to support programs against malnutrition and to provide children with nutritious meals.
“I am who I am today because my family made sure that I grew up healthy and safe, and I am dedicating myself to ensure that the most marginalized children will have a healthy childhood as well. Hope for their Future is one of the concrete ways for us to help them,” said Soberano.
Donations can be made through the organization’s website and donors can select how they would want to support the campaign. A donation of Php 500 supports the initial assessment of children’s nutritional status while donations of Php 1,100 to Php 2,600 will also provide months’ supply of ingredients for healthy food.
“Anyone can be the hope for the children’s future. No matter where you are in the world, you can take part in this campaign that seeks to give children the healthy start in life that they deserve,” said Save the Children Philippines’ Individual Giving Manager, Judy Malabanan.
The campaign will run for three months and aims to help at least 3,000 children. Those who would want to donate can visit bit.ly/HopeForTheirFuture