As part of a Christmas gift-giving program dubbed Handog sa ‘Yo ng BDO Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank provided food assistance for economically disadvantaged communities all over the country.
The foundation partnered with Caritas Philippines, the social arm of the Philippine Catholic Church, for the distribution of packs containing canned goods, cup noodles, rice and drinking water to 20,000 underserved families in 23 provinces in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
The initiative reached beneficiaries in Aklan, Batangas, Benguet, Bulacan, Cagayan, Cavite, Cotabato, Davao del Norte, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, La Union, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon, Sorsogon, Zambales and Zamboanga del Norte.
First conducted in 2020, Handog sa ‘Yo ng BDO Foundation was aimed at giving back to the community during the Christmas season and helping underserved sectors of society cope with the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Implementation this year was made possible with the support of parishes and diocesan social action centers as well as BDO and BDO Network Bank branches in the aforementioned provinces.
According to a resident of the municipality of Iba, “We are very grateful to BDO Foundation and the Social Action Center of Zambales because you remembered and chose our poor community to be one of your beneficiaries. We pray for all of you so that you may continue to become a blessing to others.”
In addition to Handog sa ‘Yo, the foundation also provided food assistance to 750 underserved families in Quezon City and Negros Occidental as part of its on-going pandemic response.
These corporate citizenship initiatives were preceded by BDO Foundation’s relief operations in provinces hit by Typhoon Maring in October 2021. Despite logistical limitations caused by COVID-19, the foundation was able to deliver relief goods to 11,540 calamity-stricken families in Abra, Benguet, Cagayan, Ilocos Sur and La Union at that time.
Meanwhile, relief operations for communities affected by Typhoon Odette are on-going.