Saturday, June 29, 2013

PP HERO JEANNEAU TESORERO,
THE LITTLE GIRL WITH A HEART OF GOLD

 
 

 

Pusong Pinoy extends its heartfelt thanks to PP heroes MIKE and ANNA TESORERO and their family especially their precious little girl, JEANNEAU.

It is said that among the important milestones in a child’s life is when he or she turns 1 and 7.  So when Jeanneau turned 7, her mom, Anna, decided it was the perfect opportunity to teach her the beauty of giving. It was not hard for Anna to convince Jeanneau that in lieu of cool gifts like toys and clothes, she will instead accept donations for the benefit of the needy kids in the Philippines. Upon Jeanneau’s consent, her family started scouting a local charity to be their beneficiary. Anna heard about Pusong Pinoy from our Team Leader Vangie Cruz-Reyes.

The Tesoreros are from Dublin, California but on the occasion of Jeanneau’s 7th birthday, more than 100 needy kids from faraway Philippines were treated to a party they will not soon forget. It was a double celebration for Jeanneau. Her U.S. party was celebrated last June 16 at Athan Downs Park in San Ramon, California. The party enabled the family to raise funds donated to Pusong Pinoy. Overseas, the Philippine party in her honor gave so much joy to our kids.

The Tesorero family’s donation enabled Pusong Pinoy recipient, the Parish Social Action Committee (PSAC), to prepare a virtual feast of pansit, hotdog on sticks, bread, juice and candies for the kids of San Vicente Ferrer Parish in Banay-Banay Lipa City. Aside from the abundant food that was  shared with some parents, PSAC helpers and volunteers, it was also an afternoon of fun-filled games. Although Jeanneau and her family couldn’t be present for the Philippine birthday blow-out, they were there in spirit - behind every smile, every laugh and every satisfied little tummy.

Add to this avalanche of blessings, Anna Tesorero also made a monetary donation used to purchased 10 sacks of rice, 20 containers of biscuits, 15 packs of chocolate milk, 25 kilos of sugar and 58 cans of sardines for the wards of Damascus Foundation in Bulacan. Such generosity! It is because of heroes like the Tesorero family that Pusong Pinoy is able to continue its mission of not only spreading literacy but also spreading hope and cheer across the Philippines. Thank you, Jeanneau, our little Pusong Pinoy hero with a big heart! - TL Krystala (Florence O. Temporal)

If you would like to celebrate your birthday the Pusong Pinoy way, please contact our Charter Team Leader Jay Martinez or Team Leader Carol Vega at info@pusongpinoy.org.

Click HERE to see other Pusong Pinoy's birthday celebrations.


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ABOUT PSAC
PSAC has been a Pusong Pinoy recipient since 2009. Their mission is to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate in the Philippines, not only by helping them with their needs, but encouraging a positive outlook on life.  PSAC serves the community of San Vicente Ferrer Parish in Banay-Banay, Lipa City in Batangas.  Special thanks to PSAC's President LIZA DE JESUS and all the volunteers for their tireless acts of kindness and generosity to the underprivileged kids in their community. 

ABOUT DAMASCUS FOUNDATION
Damascus Foundation (DF) is a non-stock, non-profit foundation located in Dona Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan in the Philippines. It is a home for drug dependents, street children, and individuals with behavioral problems. It caters mostly to charity cases; youth who have been victimized by the drug menace in our country. Its holistic approach to rehabilitation aims to give hope and provide opportunities for a normal and functional life, providing these kids with physical, mental, and spiritual development.  Apart from its rehabilitation center, DF also runs a preschool, Damascus Learning Center (DLC).  It caters to children in far-away barrios who do not have the access to preschool or kindergarten education. Most of their parents cannot afford to send them to school because of financial difficulties. For this reason, Damascus opened DLC for the children of indigent families of the town.  Its mission is to nurture back to health and educate undernourished children in its town and provide livelihood opportunities to their parents. 

Friday, June 28, 2013

PUSONG PINOY AT THE PRESTWICK PROM 2013 IN SCOTLAND


Pusong Pinoy had a great day out at Prestwick Prom, Scotland, in June. This is the third year that we have had a stall. It's a great opportunity to meet people, hand out leaflets, raise awareness and encourage donations. In the past, book donations have been made on the day, or later, as a consequence of contacts made. Money raised supports the shipping of books from Scotland to the Philippines. The event is very well supported by the local community and this year was no exception. 

There are loads of "fun" things for families to do and the wonderful weather certainly helped. As a showcase for Pusong Pinoy, it is ideal. We had fun! Thank you to the Pusong Pinoy volunteers and all of the people who visited our stall. Thank you to JEAN INNESS for donating items to sell. Looking forward to the Prom event 2014...

Sunday, June 16, 2013

PUSONG PINOY DOCUMENTARY WON AN EMMY AWARD

A shout out to our heroes, PIA LOPEZ BANOS-CARRION and JEREMIAH YSIP of ABS CBN INTERNATIONAL! God has given both of you an incredible gift, the ability to tell a story and touch the hearts of millions. Pusong Pinoy is blessed that you were able to share ours. We are truly grateful and extremely proud of you! CONGRATULATIONS!

VOTE FOR PUSONG PINOY

Click HERE to VOTE
 
Pusong Pinoy is one of the charities participating in the Global Web Video Charity Contest.  The charity with the most votes will get a :60 Explainer Video. 

Winning an EXPLAINER VIDEO would help Pusong Pinoy show how easy it is to reach out and help more disadvantaged children in the Philippines if we have more HEROES joining our cause.

We've always acknowledged the POWER OF TEAMWORK. Here's another opportunity for all of us to get together and do something to help further our cause.   It will only take a few seconds of your time.  It may not feel like it, but winning this "essential tool" will open up more opportunities for our organization.

PLEASE VOTE for PUSONGPINOY.ORG and continue to MAKE A DIFFERENCE!  Thank you in advance, HEROES & SUPERHEROES! ♥

Sunday, June 9, 2013

PP LAUNCHES TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM

BY PP TEAM LEADER FLORENCE O. TEMPORAL


Pusong Pinoy’s vision is to empower Filipino children through education. One way to achieve this is to ensure that Filipino public school teachers are equipped with the skills to teach effectively and efficiently. With this in mind, Pusong Pinoy has developed the Teacher’s Training Series.

English is a “global language”. Filipinos can be adept English speakers. However, our local accents often hinder us from being understood by English-speaking foreigners, or even fellow Filipinos. In order for our students to speak world-standard English and be globally-competitive in the future, they need to be taught how to speak “neutrally” while pronouncing words correctly, without any trace of their local or regional accents.

On its 4th anniversary, Pusong Pinoy conducted the first installment of the Teacher’s Training Series entitled “Accent Reduction Training for Teachers”. This is the first of three modules designed to teach crucial teaching skills to public school teachers. These modules were designed to help teachers to further develop both “soft and hard” teaching skills and to help them to implement various types of reading programs.

The whole-day training session was held at the Municipal Hall of Tuba, Benguet on May 11, 2013 with over 50 teachers in attendance. PP volunteers from Baguio, Manila and Palawan conducted this milestone on behalf of the organization. Charter Team Leader (CTL) Ningning Doble acted as resource speaker, while other PP volunteers served as facilitators.

During the training, CTL Ningning explained why it is important for teachers to be able speak and teach English correctly, whilst reducing their local accent. She stressed that young students do as they are taught and pronounce as they hear the words; therefore, teachers should level-up and raise their standard of teaching. Participants took part enthusiastically in a series of pronunciation drills, activities and games – all aimed at giving them give them the basic skills they need to become more effective teachers.  At the end of the workshop, the teachers from Benguet expressed their excitement about the future workshops that Pusong Pinoy will conduct in their area.

This all-important Pusong Pinoy teaching workshop would not have been made possible without the generous support of ONE HEART FOR HOPE FOUNDATION (OHFH). Its support provided the teachers with food, workshop handouts and supplies. It also enabled the PP volunteers from all over the Philippines to travel to Tuba, Benguet and conduct the workshop. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, OHFH!

We would like to acknowledge the support from volunteer PP Superheroes who made this workshop possible. Thank you to Charter Team Leader Ningning Doble for spearheading the activity. Thank you to Team Leaders- Jenny Soriano Oliva, Lhai Simon, Majoy Lumiwes, Joanne Suyam and Florence O. Temporal. Thank you to PP volunteers, Lino Lumiwes and Marty Goitia. Your assistance during the event was invaluable. Thank you, also, to Jong Herrera from Brooke’s Point, Palawan, for inspiring the teachers by sharing his experiences as an Alternative Learning System teacher.

Click HERE to see more pictures of this event.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

PUSONG PINOY BOOKS REACHES ILOCOS SUR


The Church of La Nuestra SeƱora de la Asuncion and its bell tower, located in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites listed in 1993. Apart from this impressive 300-year-old church, Santa Maria is also home to a beautiful stretch of beach. But despite its beauty, library facilities in its public elementary schools are still not up to standard.

In its efforts to uplift literacy standards of Filipino children, Pusong Pinoy included Santa Maria’s Maynganay Elementary School in its list for screening and assessment. A visit from Pusong Pinoy representative, CTL Ningning Doble, revealed that the children in this school are taught by good teachers and guided by a persevering and hard-working principal, Mrs. Elizabeth Racca. The school has a library facility but a very small collection of books – most of which are outdated and not the type of books that children would pick up to read.  Despite the lack of reading materials, the students are performing well.  With more books, they will perform even better, especially with Mrs. Racca's plan for a reading program in which the children can enjoy the books in school and at home through book lending activities.

In June, Pusong Pinoy donated 465 beautifully-illustrated books to the school.  The books were well-received by the teachers, parents and children as they rummaged through the wonderful collection.
 
To all the HEROES who went out of their way to collect and donate these books, here is a message from the school principal: “We received two boxes of books containing reading materials from Pusong Pinoy. The Teaching Staff of Maynganay Elementary School, the Parents Teachers Association, the barangay officials, the pupils, and myself, extend our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the staff of Pusong Pinoy and to all of you who are supporting this organization for granting our request. Mabuhay ang Pusong Pinoy!”

*For book donations, please email us at pusongpinoyorg@gmail.com.