MAJOR ON-GOING PROJECTS

One of the hallmarks of the Rotary Club of Makati is continuity, the assurance that a meritorious project initiated by one president is adopted and carried out by the next. It is this trait that has allowed the club to undertake and maintain a procession of long-term projects that have stood the test of time.

Partnership in Service Program

Initiated in RY 1999-2000, the club's Partnership in Service Program (PSP)is considered the local version of RI's matching grants program. Under the PSP, a Rotary Club anywhere in the country may partner with RC Makati for a joint project for which the partner club receives a matching grant of up to P50,000. As of end June 2005, the PSP has granted nearly P7.5 Million in matching funds to151 Rotary projects. Funded by the MRCFI, RC Makati earmarks P2 Million for the project every year

PP Ever Macatulad Teacher Training Program

In 1995-1996 the Club partnered with the Ateneo de Manila University, a highly-regarded Jesuit-run local university, and the Department of Education to kick off this project aimed at providing training in the teaching of English, Math and Science to selected public school teachers in the elementary and secondary levels. Under the project, a total of 584 public school teacher-scholars have undergone intensive, masteral-level training at the Ateneo and have passed on their learnings to other teachers through summer workshops. The project has been named PP Ever Macatulad Teacher Training Program to honor the man who conceptualized the scheme and got it going.

Surgical Missions

A joint undertaking of the club and the Philippine General Hospital, this project conducts free monthly in-hospital surgical missions at the PGH for indigent patients suffering from hernia, hemorrhoids, breast cancer, gall stones, meningocoele and cleft lip/palate. It has been going on since RY 1989-1990 and has benefited thousands of indigent patients who cannot afford the cost of surgery.

Christmas Bazaar & Last Angel Project

The Rotary Club of Makati initiated its annual Christmas Bazaar in 1988-1989 to raise funds for its projects. In its 19 years, it has evolved into the most anticipated and best attended bazaar in Makati , drawing the best vendors and huge crowds of shoppers, and raising millions in revenues. In 1998-1999 the Anns, who plan and prepare for the project months in advance, injected a touch of charity to the bazaar by instituting the Last Angel, an annual gift giving scheme for the wards of selected charitable institutions, schools and communities.

La Mesa Reforestation

In 2000-2001, the Club responded to the challenge of the ABS-CBN Foundation's Bantay Kalikasan to save the denuded La Mesa watershed through massive reforestation. As a project partner, the club has sponsored the planting of 45,000 trees on 76 hectares of the watershed's slopes. Bantay Kalikasan is committed to taking care of the trees, which now stand 4-6 feet tall. The project is funded by a US$68,500 matching grant from The Rotary Foundation.

Centennial Gawad Kalinga Project

In response to the call of the district for clubs to contribute to poverty alleviation initiatives, the club adopted as its centennial project the Gawad Kalinga site in Kaingin, Parañaque City. As its contribution to the community development effort in the project site, the club has underwritten the construction of 5 houses and a multi-purpose center and has completed a nutrition program for pre-school kids. Also part of the package are periodic medical missions, an Anti-TB project, and seminars on family planning and waste management, a training program for beauticians, and a small library. The project was one of those that merited a visit by RI Pres. Jonathan Majiyagbe during his trip to Manila in late January 2004.

Books Across the Seas (BATS)

Started in 1988-1989, BATS entails the sourcing of text and reference books from the United States and distributing them through Rotary Clubs to schools and libraries across the country. The club works with the Pittsburgh-based Brother's Brother Foundation, which provides and ships the books to the Philippines , and Allied Bank, which has made available a huge warehouse where books are sorted out and stamped prior to release. The project has given away over 10 million books to over 41,000 schools and libraries across the country, and has benefited some 25 million students.