The First Mayor Eric L. Olivarez Golf Cup, held November 18 at the Tagaytay Midlands Golf Club, successfully raised at least P3 million that will benefit clients of the Parañaque City Therapy Center for Children with Special Needs, organizers said.
The annual charity event, last held in 2019 because of the pandemic, grossed around P5 million in ticket sales, sponsorships and participation fees, according to officials of the Rotary Club of Parañaque-Saint Andrew which organized the event.
Mayor Olivarez said the funds raised during the golf cup will go a long way towards ensuring the viability and sustainability of the Therapy Center for Children with Special Needs, one of only two currently in operation in the Philippines.
“We are really grateful to all our players, participants, sponsors and the Rotary Club of Parañaque-Saint Andrew for this very successful event, which broke many records set in the past Mayor’s Cups during the term of Mayor Edwin L. Olivarez,” he said.
“This means a lot to our children with special needs in Parañaque who depend on the free services and facilities provided by the Therapy Center that would otherwise be very expensive and unaffordable especially to poor families,” he added.
Cissette Ricardo, president of the Rotary Club of Parañaque-Saint Andrew, said many of their members share the vision of Mayor Eric Olivarez to fully support children with special needs.
Aileen Olivarez, the mayor’s wife, also expressed her gratitude to all those who supported the golf cup and the Therapy Center during the event’s closing program.
“We really need all the support so that we can serve more children with special needs,” she said. “Since we opened the Center in June, a total of 880 children have registered for therapy, and we were able to accommodate 130 children last month alone.”
The center offers highly specialized services like physical therapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and creative arts therapy through music, dance and painting.
It also has an early intervention program, and modern facilities like a sensory integration room, a grooming room, a mini-theater, a simulation room for adaptive life skills, and a parents’ training room.
All its staff members are licensed professionals and are regular employees of the City Government which funds the Center’s entire operations.