Activities and Events
Fundraising Events & Collaborations
MEALS HANDOUT TO HK STREET SLEEPERS
HK, January 2021
Background:
TBGF volunteers join a local group in lending a hand to individuals, although some are gainfully employed, who have resorted to living in the street, parks, taking shelter in abandoned builidings or seeking refuge in 24 hour McDonald’s restaurants. HK’s rising rents and perpetually low incomes have apparently forced many working people, mostly elderly, onto the streets. Meal sets were given out to street sleepers in Sham Shui Po and Yau Ma Tei on a chilly Monday evening.
DOUBLE TYPHOON CLOTHES DRIVE
November-December 2020
Background:
As a relief effort for the victims of 2 super typhoons Ulysses and Rolly that thrashed the Philippines in late 2020, TBGF launched a clothes drive. We received an overwhelming response from all over HK who donated clothes and shoes for communities in Catanduanes, Isabela and Rizal.
MEALS HANDOUT IN COMMUNITIES
Rizal, Metro Manila, Philippines
September 2020
Background:
As the pandemic wore on, more and more marginalized citizens have suffered from the economic havoc that the situation brought. To assist local goverment, individuals volunteered to raise money and start a once a day meals handout & free health check up to those who have lost their jobs and had no other means of providing for their families. TBGF helped out communities in Fermville, Bagong Bayan, Darangan & Binangonan, Rizal with this endeavor.
PPE & MASKS DONATION TO MANILA & CEBU MEDICAL FRONTLINERS
Cebu, Philippines, April 2020
Background:
As COVID-19 infections surged in the Philippines and all over the world, there was a persistent threat to the health and safety of health workers and patients. The pandemic has reminded us the vital role that healthworkers play to relieve suffering and save lives. COVID-19 has exposed health workers and their families to unprecendented levels of risk. To protect healthworkers from this danger, the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential. TBGF coordinated with local NGOs and individuals in Manila and Cebu to donate PPEs to health workers in various hospitals and clinics.
MASKS DONATION TO SPAIN
Spain, April 2020
Background:
In late March, when Spain’s Covid situation deteriorated, we wholeheartedly shared the desire of the community to “do something for Spain”, as the country was one of the first few places to suffer from the spread of the coronavirus. In coordination with HK Spanish Chamber of Commerce, TBGF joined the fundraising campaign which raised funds to donate a total of 232,000 masks when it was most needed.
KEN SAN JOSE’S HIPHOP MASTERCLASS HK
Danzstage Studios HK, January 18, 2020
Background:
By far, this is our coolest fundraiser & most fun. Ken San Jose, a Filipino-American hiphop sensation, from Millenium Dance Complex LA, who has worked with Matt Stefanina, Sean Lew, Wildabeast Adams and Bailey Sok, was in HK for a one day only masterclass for the tween group and his avid fans alike. Our big thank you to Ken for sharing his talent to fans here in HK & for helping us with our cause. A great event to start off 2020! Big thanks to Bev Gill Chappell, Paz Angeles-Carale & Buddy Carale, Thomas Hall Claudine Yabut-San Jose for all their help in making this masterclass possible.
ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROLING 2
Jebsens Residence, Pokfulam, December 15, 2019
Background:
The Best Gift Foundation Carolers spread holiday cheer to guests at the Jebsens annual dimsum and drinks party. We are so proud of our young singers for sharing their talent and time to help us raise funds for our cause. We are very grateful to Judith and the Jebsen family for welcoming us into their home. Thank you to Paz Carale, parents, yayas for the help and support and Bea Garcia, our voice coach, for helping us get the kids reach performance level in a very tight schedule.
BONNIE’S CASHMERE & STEFERE JOAILLERIE PRIVATE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING EVENT
The Cave Central, December 17, 2018
Background:
Bonnie’s Cashmere and Stefere Joaillerie presented their best wares to our shoppers at an exclusive Christmas shopping event for charity. Bonnie’s cashmere uses supreme quality goat hair collected by hand in the Inner Mongolian steppe to produce eco-friendly, high fashion cashmere pieces. Stefere Joaillerie, a HK based fine jewellery company, is known for its unique and edgy designs and has a diverse following that includes top Hollywood celebrities. The event was a great way to showcase their exquisite products while our customers and supporters enjoyed an afternoon of retail therapy while catching up with friends before the holidays.
ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROLING
December 15, 2018
Background:
During the Christmas holidays, we often go about our usual rituals of merriment and getting through the chaos of it all. As we take a pause from this, we are reminded of the meaningful side of the holidays, giving and thinking of those who are less fortunate than ourselves. In this light, we are organised a parent-child initiative of forming a group of Christmas carolers to perform a repertoire of songs for our host families and to collect donations to raise more funds towards our Foundation’s classroom building projects in the rural Philippines.
IMC CAS PROJECTS
International Montessori School, Stanley, December 2018
Background:
Last December 2018, the International Montessori School’s Upper Primary students organised 3 events to raise funds towards our classroom building projects. ‘Jump for Heart’, School dance & Bake Sale events were all part of their CAS (Community, Action, Service) project. Our deepest gratitude to these wonderful students for choosing The Best Gift Foundation as the beneficiary of their outstanding efforts!
CIS FAIR
Chinese International School, Braemar Hill, November 24, 2018
Background:
We were thrilled to be a part of CIS Fair 2018! The CIS school fair is one of the biggest annual events where the whole CIS community gathers over food and fun to experience the school spirit. It was great to meet the lovely people in this community and promote our cause. Thank you very much to our cheerful and spirited volunteers who made the day possible!
ANG LARAWAN, a HK Premier
Asia Society Miller Theater, August 28, 2018
Background:
Movie night extravaganza!
It was a great turnout at ‘Ang Larawan (The Portrait)’ film screening, in spite of the rain and chaos in town. We are so grateful to our patrons and friends who came to support our 3rd event for this year. The big draw, of course, was the movie itself. Ang Larawan, The Movie is based on one of the gems of Philippine literature, Nick Joaquin’s ‘A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino’. The outstanding cast was led by Joanna Ampil and Rachel Alejandro. Big thanks to Culturtain Musicat, for the cooperation to help us bring the film to Hong Kong, Asia Society HK Centre, our venue supporter with the help of Jamie Leung and Carol Chan, our sponsors for the pre-screening cocktail event, Mr. Wolf restaurant, BidVino Wines & San Miguel Corporation with the help of Steven Co. The occasion was graced by Deputy Consul General Derrick Atienza, who gave an encouraging speech and Consul Paul Saret of the Philippine Consulate General of HK. Our wonderful and efficient crew Paz Angeles-Carale, Tom Hall, Carol Chan, Emely Beadell, Nick Tomkinson, Pun, Adam, the rest of Mr Wolf staff, Gloria Sales and Bibeth Gallo for the unyielding support.
MONICA VINADER SHOPPING EVENT
IFC Mall, Central, June 21, 2018
Background:
Monica Vinader’s award winning demi-fine jewellery designs combined with its wearability proved to be a popular choice for our dear friends and TBGF supporters as they all flocked to the IFC Mall shop that evening, enjoying canapés, champagne and complimentary engraving on certain purchases. This brand gained its popularity from the friendship bracelet pieces and expanded rapidly over the years. 10% of the event proceeds went to TBGF’s classroom building projects.
SHOP TO GIVE - STEFERE HAUTE JOAILLERIE
The Cave, Central, May 10, 2018
Background:
Getting together for a good cause for TBGF’s first major fundraiser, Shop to Give: Stefere Haute Joaillerie exclusive shopping event. We are all very grateful for the success of last Thursday’s event. The funds raised exceeded our expectations and the exquisite Stefere bling made a lot of mamas happy. Big thanks to Corina Larpin, Stefere’s talented and generous designer; Anna Treier, for her time and support, Paz Angeles, our diligent co-director; Fae Mueller, our enthusiastic TBGF supporter; Bev Chappell of Poppy’s Trunk for the pretty decor and the sweet treats; Nick Tomkinson of Mr Wolf, peddler of booze and the Mr Wolf staff; BidVino, Emely Beadell and last but not the least, our venue sponsor, Tom Hall for the overall support.
ALOUETTE FOUNDATION VISIT
Malibay, Pasay, Philippines, March 18, 2018
Background:
After a reunion evening of nostalgia, laughter, an exquisite omakase dinner that went into a rabbit hole of a photo session, Chai Hall and her Cathay Pacific warrior women and long time friends ended the weekend with a TBGF volunteer activity at the Allouette Foundation in Pasay City. Allouette Foundation provides sponsorship and educational services to children and youth from socially & economically disadvantaged families. The experience made the reunion weekend even more exciting and meaningful. Maraming salamat po to Cecille & Piper Guballa, Mona Gray; Adette, Sofie & Via dela Pena, Rose Atong, Alfie Tolentino & Bangge Evangelista & family for donating their time and talents to the children of Allouette Foundation! Big Xie, xie ni to Carmen Zhao for kindly donating the handy fans giveaway! It was a godsend on that baking Sunday afternoon.
TREATS FOR A CAUSE
Burnside Villas, South Bay, HK, March 13, 2018
Background:
IMS Upper Primary student, Philine & her friend raised money for The Best Gift Foundation’s classroom building projects by selling homemade sweet treats to their neighbors and friends. Philine heard about The Best Gift Foundation’s efforts through her classmate and good friend, Georgia Hall, whose mom runs the foundation. She said, “We realized that by having fun baking we can also help others. We sold lollipops and cakes to collect money for people in need. To do something meaningful felt like we got the best of both worlds.”
BATANES VOLUNTOURISM
Basco Central School, Basco, Batanes, October 2017
Background:
Batanes is like nowhere else in Southeast Asia. Its people, the Ivatan, have endured such conditions for some 4,000 years, mostly alone in their own part of the world. Innovation and resilience have been fundamental to a life in isolation, and in the path of many of the region’s typhoons. This trip was our second attempt at going to Batanes as the first one was cancelled due to terrible weather and it is evident, as soon as we landed, that the decision to push for this trip to happen was the right one. This place has a certain magical beauty to it.
For the volunteering part, we were welcomed by the community of Basco Central School with a school marching band & a parade. At the assembly hall, the school principal, in her welcome speech, that occurrence of natural disasters in their town has never deterred the spirit of the people of Batanes and that it has only made them stronger each time. As an added bonus, we gave out new school shoes to the students. After the unveiling of the classroom donation plaque, we planted seedling in the garden patch outside the new classrooms that we donated. In an authentic Ivatan way , we were treated to a big spread of local food for our lunch. The highlight of the day, the games activity with the special education students, brought smiles & laughter to both kids & adult participants alike.
Sightseeing in Batanes brought us to Vayang Rolling Hills, Basco Lighthouse, Valugan Boulder Beach, Dipnaysupuan Japanese Tunnel, Basco & Marlboro Hills, Honesty Coffee Shop. The place is magical in a way that you will not expect a place like this to exist in the Philippines.
BAD MOMS STRUT IN STILLETTOES HEELS FOR CHARITY
Dance Trinity Studio & Oola Restaurant, Central HK, May 2017
Background:
A fierce heels dance class for the mommies and a successful fundraiser made for a remarkable evening. For this get-your-groove-back-through-stilletoes fun evening, we raised HKD 18K for our school shoes donation fund as an extra bonus for our host school for the visit to Batanes for a classroom inauguration.
BAGUIO VOLUNTOURISM
Baguio City, Philippines, June 2016
Background:
Tagged as the Philippines’ summer capital, Baguio City is one of the favorite destination of locals & tourists as it is a respite from the heat with its year round cool climate. One of our directors, Paz, spent a few years of her youth in Baguio & for this reason, we chose Baguio as the second destination for our Voluntourism trip. This City of Pines is steeped in Ifugao culture and has a unique landscape with all of its parks and hills. The volunteers explored the Mansion House, Tam-awan Village, rode ponies at Burnham Park, Ben-cab Museum, went strawberry picking at La Trinidad.
Our partner charity, Children’s Hour, Philippines; chose Dona Nicasia Elementary School as our gracious host. For our visit to the school, a program was presented which included an Ifugao dance & cultural presentation, games activities with the school kids, school bags giveaway, and the highlight of the day, a mural painting activity of the school entrance wall which will be a lasting remembrance of our visit to the school. As a gesture of our gratitude, TBGF awarded the school a new laptop, desktop computer, printer and a projector.
BOHOL VOLUNTOURISM
Bohol, Philippines, May 2015
Background:
To coincide with the inauguration of the 2 classrooms built at Ancillae Christi Elementary School, we organized our first voluntourism trip with friends and family from Hong Kong and Manila. For the volunteering part, our partner charity in the Philippines, Children’s Hour, organized a Brigada Eskwela activity for our group, which is a nationwide initiative of the Department of Education that mobilizes groups and individuals to do repairs and clean-up to help prepare public schools for the incoming school year. Kids and adult volunteers trim grass in the field and cleaned classrooms for a good portion of the afternoon. The following day, at the inauguration at Ancillae Christi, volunteers participated in a tree planting activity, played games with the school kids & gave away school bags. For the tourism part of the trip, the group visited Chocolate Hills, Tarsier Sanctuary, went snorkeling & water sports at Bohol Beach Club. This maiden voluntourism trip is definitely one of the favorites.
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