The country’s largest private employer, Convergys, recently concluded its project “Give A Bag of Hope”, a nationwide employee-driven program which donated bags filled with school supplies to elementary students of selected partner schools across the country.
Convergys employees donated a total of 17,123 ‘bags of hope’ filled with notebooks, pad papers, pencils, sharpeners, and crayons to primarily Grades 1 to 3 students in 26 public schools and communities. The program was a way to help address one of the main causes of school dropouts, which is the lack of school supplies.Launched in May and completed in August by its 34 sites, Convergys and its 60,000-strong workforce was able to generate P8.21 Million through monetary donations, direct school supply contributions, employee referrals, and volunteer work. Employees also spent 8,450 volunteer hours in visiting partner schools in Baguio, Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Laguna, Cebu, Bacolod, and Davao to hand out the ‘bags of hope’ to schoolchildren.
“We are delighted by the support of our employees as evidenced by their outstanding donations and volunteerism given to this campaign. It is one of the ways they demonstrated our company Value of ‘Serving the Community’. We are proud to have such committed individuals make a difference and share their time and treasures in the company’s nation-building contributions,” said Ivic Mueco, Convergys Philippines Country Manager.
“Give A Bag of Hope” sprang from Convergys’ belief in education as a great equalizer for people to realize their dreams and for the government to make inclusive growth a reality. With the ultimate goal to minimize school dropouts in public schools in the Philippines, Convergys tapped partner schools neighboring its sites for this landmark project.
“Dire poverty is a problem for most kids: having no money for transportation, food, and even school supplies but this problem is already being alleviated because of projects like ‘Give A Bag of Hope’. The hurdles are being replaced by positivity. Our kids can now better participate in school because they already have what they need. All these support mechanisms inspire and strengthen them to continue studying in spite of daily challenges,” added Dr. Antonio Rocha, Principal of Alabang Elementary School, one of the partner schools.
“Give A Bag of Hope” is also aligned with one of Convergys’ focus areas for philanthropy which is to remove barriers to stability and improve quality of life.