The University of the Philippines Alumni Association-CNMI Chapter yesterday presented its $4,000 check donation for the construction of a classroom in Calamba, Laguna, Philippines.<\/p>\n
Alumni president Concepcion van Der Veen said the group has selected Calamba National High School based primarily on its need for such facilities.<\/p>\n
The school is said to have 80 students per classroom. Due to limited facilities, it holds two class sessions daily\u2014from 6am to 1pm and 1pm to 8pm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very happy that we\u2019ve finally come up with this amount. We thank everybody who helped us in the fundraising,\u201d van Der Veen said.<\/p>\n
Philippine consul Wenceslao Gayola expressed his appreciation to the group \u201cfor your great concern for the plight of our students back home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure that they (students) will be very grateful. I\u2019m really thankful for this worthy endeavor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Philippine Labor representative Joanne Lavilla said UPAA\u2019s donation was the first from the Filipino community in the Commonwealth, but overall, it was the fourth to come from the CNMI.<\/p>\n
The first three classroom donations came from businessman Jerry Tan, she said. <\/p>\n
Lavilla said a total of 15 pledges have been made in the CNMI for the donate-a-classroom project in the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Meantime, Van Der Veen said that the group will continue to fundraise for the construction of a partner classroom for the same school.<\/p>\n
She said another organization, the Marianas Filipino Women Association, has pledged to shoulder $2,000 for the second project.<\/p>\n
It means that UPAA-CNMI still needs to find a $2,000 to match it.<\/p>\n
UPAA\u2019s first donation of $4,000 came from the group\u2019s fundraising as well as from a business group, U.S.-based Pleasant Care headed by Sedy Demesa-Bernabe and Ding De Lima.<\/p>\n
Demesa-Bernabe and De Lima, who are currently on island, donated $2,000 to the group for the classroom project.<\/p>\n
GOLD COIN AUCTION<\/p>\n
Van Der Veen, meantime, who is soon leaving for the U.S., said that she is willing to auction her 2000 Sydney Oylmpic Games gold coin for the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need $2,000 more so I\u2019m putting my collector\u2019s item gold coin on auction. If anybody is interested, they can contact me,\u201d said van Der Veen. <\/p>\n
The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (telephone 235-3411) can provide contact information for Van Der Veen. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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