Last April 6 and 21, Ortigas Foundation, Inc., in cooperation with the Human Resources Department, held a Volunteerism Seminar for the employees of Ortigas and Company, Limited Partnership.

Done in three shifts, the seminar dubbed "Ortigas Bayani's: Volunteers for Nation-Building" aims to infuse in the hearts of OCLP employees a renewed love for the country and a heightened passion to serve and make a difference. Invited speakers from leading partners in the volunteerism field gave insights on the importance of volunteering and how simple individuals, even mere employees, can take concrete steps in changing the lives of their co-Filipinos for the better.

There to impart their expertise for the April 6 seminar for the Head Office employees were: Mr. Joselito De Vera, Executive Director of Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency; Mr. Eric Soriano, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Jesuit Volunteers of the Philippines; Ms. Mattie Uylangco of Petron Foundation; and Mr. Don Sucalit, Volunteering Development Officer of VSO-Bahaginan.

Mr. Tony Meloto, Founder and Executive Director of Gawad Kalinga; Atty. Jo Maribojoc, Executive Director of Jesuit Volunteers of the Philippines; Ms. French Vibar and Mr. Robby Nazal, Returned Volunteer from Kenya and Program Manager, respectively, of VSO-Bahaginan; Mr. Chris Yap of Meralco Millenium Foundation; and Ms. Deannie Lyn Ocampo, of PinoyRin.Net, meanwhile, shared their volunteerism stories and experiences in the April 21 session held at the Greenhills Shopping Center.

Each volunteerism seminar was opened with a welcome remarks by OCLP's Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Rex C. Drilon II and a presentation of past volunteerism initiatives of the company by the company's division heads - Corporate Resources Division Head and Chief Finance Officer, Mr. Emmanuel A. Rapadas, Real Estate Division Head, Ms. Cathy C. Ko and Shopping Center Division Head and Deputy COO, Mr. Joselito F. Santos. The participation of senior management in the seminars is testament to the level of importance the company gives to its employee volunteerism program.

Closing each seminar was RockEd's Founder and Executive Director, Ms. Gang Badoy. Gang shared her personal story about a butanding and how nation-building could be compared to swimming next to an enormous whale-shark - it is intimidating and scary at first, but incredibly fulfilling and seemingly simple once you decide to actually do it. Songs that further inspired the employees on helping the "Simpleng Tao" were also sung by RockEd's Volunteer #1, independent songwriter and artist, Mr. Noel Cabangon.

The Ortigas Volunteer Corps will soon be launched officially with two potential volunteerism opportunities this May. Meanwhile, OCLP employees and other members of the community are continuously encouraged to sign up and be more pro-active in building the nation.

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