Health drinks company Vita Coco and a non-profit group behind the “Hope In A Bottle” brand have added a basketball court to facilities it has built for one of General Santos City’s poorest schools.
The new basketball court, built for the General Santos City National Secondary School for the Arts and Trade, was inaugurated last month.
Top executives from Vita Coco and Friends of Hope were at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Vita Coco was represented by Patrick Baskin and Sophie Higgins, global brand managers for the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively, and Tyler Humes, from Nashville, and Chris De Vos, from South Africa.
Hope program director Jorgen Abellera and General Santos City mayor Ronnel Rivera were also there.
Vita Coco and Hope have already built six new classrooms for GSCNSSAT under the Education Department’s “Adopt A School” program.
The classrooms are now being used by 508 students in Grades 7 to 9. Before Vita Coco and Hope stepped in, some of the students have had to hold classes beneath trees or a shed.
Bienvenido Ruedas, the school principal, said the new basketball court has led to an increase in student participation and attendance”.
“What’s more important, though, is that the school no longer has to worry about the safety and welfare of its students. Whether it’s sunny or rainy, we are sure that the students are safe and dry. Extreme change of weather is no longer a problem.” he said.
The school is also jump-starting an initiative to increase the reading proficiency of their students, said Ruedas.
“We designated a portion of the classrooms as reading corners to encourage the students to read. Even during lunch breaks, the teachers stay in the classroom and make use of these spaces to develop the students’ reading habits,” he said.