Ate Rvy’s Star City with John David Salvador

Today was a very exciting afternoon as we brought 25 kids to Star City. I always love our field trip events. It is an opportunity for children to experience things outside of school and home. Most of these marginalized kids do not get to go out often and see different kinds of places. Today was the birthday celebration of Ate Rvy. As a flight attendant she gets to travel around the world and see all sorts of beautiful places. She wanted to share this exciting experience with the kids of JD Salvador. Before we went in Ate Rvy gave out gifts for the kids. They got Frozen, Spiderman, and Minion backpacks with gifts inside. They also got party hats that they happily wore inside the park.

I personally haven’t been to Star City for a while. I have forgotten how much fun it was to be adventurous once in a while. As they always say, “life is like a roller coaster!” Most of the kids haven’t had the opportunity to try the kinds of rides offered in Star City so they were very eager to try. In addition to the existing rides the park is offering, they opened up an Annex in the outdoor area. It features several new attractions including the Classic Carousel.

The first adventure we got to try was the Telecombat. Here you get to zoom through the universe on space ships that circle, dip, and climb. The kids shouted as the space ships went up and down. As it went around the kids were able to turn the individual ships around. One of the children wanted to have a solo spaceship. It was adorable as he closed his eyes holding tightly on the sides while he tried peeking every so often.

We then got to try the Dragon Express. It is a mini dragon roller coaster that travels through China. It could fit all sizes of the family so we all had fun as we were able to ride with the kids. The U! Happy Events core team partnered and sat together with a kid. We had so much fun as some of us even tried taking selfies while the dragon was moving.

Then we tried the popular ride The Viking. It is the classic swing ride where the huge ship rocks back and forth. They hugged and held on to each other as the ship rocked upwards. As the ship rocked downward the kids shrieked in delight as they waived their hands up in the air.

We also got to try several other attractions like the Happy Swing, a huge swing that rocks back and forth, Jumping Star, this ride bring you all the way to the top, then all of a sudden drops you all the way down, and others. The kids shouted in delight as they felt like their hearts were dropping to the ground.

Some of the kids went on the Giant Star Wheel. it is the third tallest Ferris Wheel in the country where you get to experience the beautiful view of Roxas Boulevard and Manila Bay. The kids were excited in anticipation as they waited for their gondola to reach the top. They were amazed how stunning the view was from high up. It’s not everyday one gets to be at about 205 ft above ground!

The last attraction we got to try was the Classic Carousel. The ride was quickly filled by our kids as most of them wanted to try it. Ate Rvy joined our kids in the carousel. She was able to go around and bonded with some kids as the carousel went around.

As we reached the end of the day we gathered the kids around. They gave us their heartwarming hugs and thank you’s for a great day. They sang Ate Rvy a Happy Birthday song. That day was her actual birthday which made it even more meaningful as she was able to spend it with these delightful children. For Ate Rvy, the best way to make yourself happy is to help others. Lifting other people’s spirits will lift you up too. She further added, “Doing a good deed makes you feel like you have a purpose in the world – a purpose that’s much bigger than yourself. Isn’t that the best feeling ever?”

Under Armour’s PBA Live with JD Salvador

After an event with children of Gentle Hands in Quezon City, we drove on the opposite end to watch PBA live in Mall of Asia Arena with 16 children and teens of JD Salvador Foundation. Thanks to connections we have built through the years, we get more invites to activities children in marginalized sector don’t get to experience.

Ate Karen Romarte got to connect us to Under Armour who got us seats courtside. Am just excited for the boys who got to see their basketball heroes in person. They cheered in almost every shot.

We were also joined by Ms. Earth winner, Angelia Ong. She’s also part of JCI Manilena where Ate Karen Romarte is past president of. It was truly a unique time for everyone.

Alphaland Celebrates with 4 Children NGOs

Alphaland’s event happened on the 11th of December, with just 14 days until it was time to celebrate the most precious day of the year. That Friday, we were waiting for our turn to speed up on the road, as we’re running out of time due to heavy traffic brought by Christmas rush. With this event being the third for the day, volunteering involved driving from Tondo all the way to Pasay, then reaching out to Magallanes area, to be able to provide another simple and heart touching memory for children.

Alphaland Corporation collaborated with U! Happy Events to extend their helping hands to their chosen beneficiaries namely UNO Kids, Little Lights, John David Salvador and Tuklasan Foundation. It was held at the Main Atrium of their Alphaland Southgate Mall in Pasong Tamo. The management of Alphaland prepared a one and half hour of fun and exciting activities with a theme of “Give Love on Christmas Day”. Our enthusiastic U! Happy Volunteers arrived at the venue and went to their respected groups. We knew the 40 kids part of the event were all excited as their facial expressions showed their exceeding joy and gratitude.

The event was well-planned, as the stage was presented with colorful designs. Foreign Santa Claus was also just around the corner waiting for those little kids and moms to capture a photo or selfie with him. Other guests were dancing Sponge Bob and Minion mascots that never seemed to run out of energy to give their warmest welcome to everyone. A balloon twister was also present to give each child their favorite balloon shapes.

Kuya Harvard did the games onstage and called the kids, together with their Ates and Kuyas to fall in line according to their height, from the tallest one at the back to the shortest one in front. A combination of relay and charade game then started wherein they described things that remind them of Christmas season. The one in line that reaches the answer last should run towards Kuya Harvard to verify the correct answer.

As the show went on, a group of talented girls from Dance Plus performed a graceful, ballet dance in their catchy costumes, to the tune of various songs. Who would not love to see those cute little girls on their tip-toes, dancing? After a wonderful performance, it was Kuya Ruther’s time to shine! He is a ventriloquist, who changes his voice so that it appears that the voice is coming elsewhere, usually from a puppet. Everyone had such a good laugh including mall goers as he and his puppet “Titoy” started to perform funny conversations. To make this show even more alive, Jive Band came in with a song and dance number and gathered the participants to dance with them. It was a mini concert!

The jam packed night performance also included kids from the different foundations showing their talents via singing and dancing. Generous members of Alphaland awarded cash prizes on top of presents for each child, and cash donations to the four NGOs for children.

It was definitely a night to remember for the kids. There are no words to express their deepest gratitude towards the organizers. Thank you Alphaland for choosing to celebrate with them!

Kuya Jae Celebrates with JD Salvador

Birthdays would never be the same without the spirit of pouring our heart out to those who in need. Our Kuya Jae chose to celebrate with this young children of JD Salvador together with his friends. It was good to see that this young adults showed compassion.

Their tremendous amount of energy made this day jolly and alive. Before starting the event, Kuya Harvard introduced them one by one in front and tasked them to tell who was the person that they truly adore but Kuya Jayson tells none and gets punished by dancing “Watch Me Whip”. Unfortunately, he was not that good at all and it made everyone teased him. Kuya Harvard called Mary Anne, one of the little kids. She grooved gracefully.

Our first challenge was “ Bato Bato Pick” that made everyone became competitive. A simple game yet a rewarding one. Every time someone won, he or she will give their colorful rubber bands to the winner. Among all the groups, Alexandra won with a total of 16. Next in line was “Act Now” wherein they were going to act a situation with movements and sounds like you were a Youtube Sensation Star. Those who portray it closely to reality will be given a reward. The group that got our stamps was group 3.

The last one demands a quick and mental creativity wherein the five groups merged into two groups. It was challenging since they were given a limited time to perform with grace and passion. “Kumukuti-kutitap” was assigned to the first group while the other was “12 Days of Christmas”. Both parties showed a wonderful performance, uniqueness of their gestures and by that, the group that spiced up the moment was Group Two who performed the 12 Days of Christmas. How could anyone forget their style of giving much fun to everyone? It was a SUPERB and BRILLIANT idea. Make sure next time Kuya’s and Ate’s will do it perfectly. Above all, the kids deserves a big applause for a job well done.

Our amazing morning bonding with the kids came to an end but before waving our hands to say good bye, the Kuya’s and Ate’s gave their presents and of course, we do strike a pose to mark this day a memory to remember.