RC Makati sweeps major awards, adjudged Most Outstanding Club-Overall at District Awards Night

RCM-Ateneo Teacher Training Program graduates trainees from 10 MMA city divisions, 6 schools

2000+ kids receive Christmas presents under the Club's
Last Angel Gift-Giving Project

Club, MRCFI send help to Typhoon Reming victims through Red Cross, initiate help drive among members

Gawad Kalinga, 7 other RC Makati projects win recognition at District 3830 Yearend Awards rite

2000+ kids receive Christmas presents under the Club's Last Angel Gift-Giving Project

Trust our Rotary Anns to start a project and keep it going year after year, as strong on its latest run as it was on its first.

They have done it with our Christmas Bazaar (kudos to J'net Zulueta for kicking it off in 1988) and now again with the Last Angel Gift Giving Project (thanks to Brin Panlilio for thinking it up). Truly the creative mind finds no better partners than the kind heart and the giving hand.

This year, Terry Tambunting , as immediate past First Ann, was at the helm of the Last Angel Project. Like Ann Jojo Borromeo before her, Terry took the task seriously and ran it like a seasoned events organizer. For eleven days in December, Ann Terry, with the able assistance of our secretariat's Eden Noche , visited as many sites in Parañaque, Makati , Manila and Calatagan, Batangas— to hand out presents to excited young boys and girls numbering 2,042, setting a new record for the project.

In Parañaque, they went to the Santos Compound Target Range on the 3 rd of December to hand out gifts to 200 children; Clinicville/Silverio on the 9 th (200 kids); our Gawad Kalinga project site in Villa Paraiso on the 10 th (350 kids) and the 18 th (70 kids); Presentation of the Child Jesus Parish on the 12 th (200 kids); BF Northwest on the 14 th (83 kids); Our Lady of Unity Parish on the 16 th (132 kids) and on the 20 th (185 kids); and Cubic/ Napa/Maralit/St. Mary on the 19 th (109 kids).

There were three groups of institutional beneficiaries— 60 wards of the Asilo de San Vicente de Paul on UN Avenue, Manila, and 50 boys and girls in the care of the Makati Social Welfare Department under our Bantay Bata Program, both visited on the 13 th ; and the 40 wards of Bahay Maria in Bel-Air Village whom the committee visited on the 14 th .

On the 19 th Terry joined hands with the Christmas Package Drive Committee under PP Freddie Borromeo for a trip southward, to Calatagan, Batangas, where she distributed Christmas gifts and bags of grocery items to 109 children at the Paraiso Elementary School .

For helping her bring the joys of Christmas to over 2040 children last December, Ann Terry has a long list of people to thank:

Pres. Conrad Marty & First Ann Chit, IPP Sonny Tambunting, PE Pepito Bengzon and 3 children, Jojo Binay, Frank Chavez & Ann Jean, Ai-Ai Galvez, Peter Manzano, Bud & Au Melvin, Fred Menzel, Ann Tesha Garcia, Ann Lilibeth Herbosa and 3 kids, Ann Lu Limjoco, and Ann Maureen Soong and daughter, for lending a hand in the gift distribution, and Bud Melvin and secretariat staffer Rey Manlutac for adding joy to the program by playing Santa.

And of course the donors, who made it possible for Ann Terry to reach out and bring the Christmas message of love to more children this year : Myrna Adriano, Marilou Alejandro, Rante Aguila, PP Fidel Alfonso, Irene Barcelon, David Batchelor, Nellie Bengzon, Ann Jojo Borromeo, Larry & Tere Boyer, Teody Buenaflor, Rafa Cacho, Gigi Calero, PP Cesar Campos, Milette Carlos, Lito & Flor Casal, Frank Chavez, Mon Diokno, Lucy Enriquez, Rose Galvez, Gerry Garcia, Glo Garcia, Tesha Garcia, PRID Paing Hechanova, Manny Javelosa, Lulu Katigbak, Bubi Krohn, PP Robert Kuan, Melanie Laggui, Cynthia de Leon, Lu Limjoco, Maggie Macatulad, Sonia Madrid, Dea Martelino, Chit Marty, Bud Melvin, Titang Montinola, Sue Ann Nolido, May Neri, Brin Panlilio, Didi Payumo, Tony Pedro, PP Puno Peña, Alex Recto, Ed Rojas, Pina Rojas, Rolly & Joey Roque, Mariza del Rosario, Baby Samson, Joanna Santos Ocampo, Dodie Siguion Reyna, Mimi Valerio, Mike & Cecile Varela, Dean Velasco and PP Roland & Caling Young .

The Last Angel Project is the “heart” of the Christmas Bazaar. Every year on bazaar day, a Christmas tree is adorned with angel tags, each bearing the name, gender and age of a young child from a community or charitable institution that had been selected earlier by the Anns. Shoppers are invited to pick a tag (or as many as they want) and buy a present (worth at least P150 this year, it was P100 in previous years) for each chosen child. The presents are wrapped and gift-tagged by the Anns, ready for delivery to the children before Christmas day. As it has been in recent years, many Rotarians and Anns this year donated sums corresponding to the number of children they wanted to give presents to. To them on behalf of the Last Angel children, we say ‘Thank You' for your kindness and generosity.