The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation's (PAGCOR) "Pamaskong Handog 2010 - 12 Days of Christmas" project became the answered Christmas prayer for the special students and street children of Las Pinas City and Manila when they were chosen as beneficiaries of the special gift-giving project.

"This is God's way of answering our prayers! We were praying for kindhearted people to reach out and make the Christmas of our students merry. PAGCOR came just in time to fulfill our wish," said Director Bebiana Basa of the Pangkomunidad na Tulong sa mga Batang Espesyal (PATUBAES) Foundation, Inc.

PATUBAES, a school for special children who belong to poor families in Las Pinas City, became one of the Day 11 beneficiaries of PAGCOR for its Pamaskong Handog project.

According to Basa, the Learning Center makes do with its lean manpower and resources since the families of most students only pay the school what they can afford. "Our school does not earn much and the personnel almost work for free. We only have three teachers in PATUBAES and I am one of them," she added.

During PAGCOR's gift-giving event, 15 special children, 25 special adolescents from the PATUBAES school received Christmas gift packs containing food items, toiletries, clothing and some learning materials. A computer set, a DVD player, a karaoke, a gas stove, kitchenware and monobloc chairs were also donated by PAGCOR upon learning that these were the Center's wishes for Christmas.

"These gifts from PAGCOR mean a lot to us. We can use them to make learning more conducive for the special children of PATUBAES," she shared.

PAGCOR also reached out to 100 street children under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DWSD) Reception and Action Center in Arroceros, Manila.

Indigent kids and families housed by the institution were given food, clothing, toiletries and special gift packs. PAGCOR also fulfilled the Reception and Action Center's Christmas wish list of electric fans, a TV set, a DVD player, and a washing machine.

According to Jean Joaquin, Officer-in-Charge of the Reception and Action Center, PAGCOR's donations will them provide better services to the abused and neglected children, lost elderly and street families who have found a home in the Center.

"Our residents are among the sectors in society who have no one to rely on. They need a home and a family that will truly support and care for them. We thank PAGCOR for its generosity; for giving our residents, whom we have considered family, a more meaningful Christmas," Joaquin enthused.

Launched last December 9, PAGCOR's "Pamaskong Handog 2010 - 12 Days of Christmas", continues to spread joy to the different, less known charitable institutions. "We hope PAGCOR is somehow generating awareness about these centers so that generous donors and benefactors will take notice of them and eventually help them," Maricar Bautista, AVP for Corporate Communications said.

According to Bautista, simultaneous nationwide gift-giving missions are also held through PAGCOR provincial branches in Mimosa, Angeles, Olongapo, Tagaytay, Laoag, Cebu, Mactan, Bacolod and Davao. "At the end of our gift-giving activities, the Pamaskong Handog ng PAGCOR 2010 would have touched the lives of close to 9,000 beneficiaries, all of whom belong to the marginalized groups of our society," she said.

Go back