A group of Filipino-American students from West Ranch High School are collecting donations to assist the tens of thousands of people affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano in the Philippines.
The recent eruption of Taal Volcano on Jan. 12 has forced many Filipino residents to flee their homes and move to evacuation centers. Those most affected are villagers in the hard-hit province of Batangas.
Current West Ranch High School students Nathan Almeda, Troy Boggs, Julia Camia, Indigo Garcia, Katris Fabian, Joseph Fabian, Hans Lontoc, Tristan Manalang, Dani Nalangan, Joaquin Santos and Marcus Salvador; and alumni Josh Alvarez, Camie Sotiangco and Jared Sotiangco all met through the West Ranch Band and Colorguard Program.
The group is working with their families to collect funds to support the humanitarian and medical missions of the Batangas Medical Center Taal-Ong Tayo (Tulong Tayo) program in Batangas City.
To kick off their donation and fundraising drive, Almeda wrote a letter and sent it to a few local organizations and businesses in Santa Clarita.
First to respond were Dora and Pete Cruz, Peter Cruz and Pia Sadaqatmal; owners of Gong Cha, a bubble tea shop in Santa Clarita. Recognizing the immediate needs of their “kababayan” — or countrymen — back home, the business owners donated $500 to the group’s cause, and even expressed support for future charitable work and projects, according to organizers.
Among the urgent needs of the victims are food, water, medical supplies, hygiene kits (including toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo, baby diapers and feminine products), clothing and linens/blankets.
However, collecting donations in kind and then shipping them to the Philippines would take almost a month. Instead, the students are calling for cash donations, and plan to hold fundraisers such as bake sales to get funds quickly via money transfers.
Through this fundraising, the students assure that their donations are able to get to the victims immediately and would be able to help more of those in need.
Receiving all donations is Dr. Licarte-Macalalad at the Batangas Medical Center in the Philippines, who then plans to purchase supplies and help distribute them to affected areas.
As of Jan. 16, 100 bags of relief goods had been sent to people in need, and the students have raised $1,200 to date, according to organizers.
“Learning about this disaster and seeing how the people of Batangas were affected
brought sadness to many people, including myself,” Almeda wrote in his fundraising letter. “As a Fil-Am, who has learned to love the country and people, (I) would like to help in any way just to let them know that even if we are in a different country, there are still people who care about them.”
For any person, organization and/or business interested in supporting the cause, contact Ivy Manalang here.
Ed. Note: This information provided to KHTS by Ivy Manalang.
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