09 February 2016 – Four Filipino community organizations in New York participated in the first ever fund-raising fair entitled “Project Disaster Response:  Typhoon Nona” held on January 30 at the Philippine Center in New York.

The participating organizations were Handang Tumulong Foundation, Inc., Volunteers from Northern Samar, Philippine Disaster Relief Foundation and Kinding Sindaw.

The one-day fair facilitated the various fund-raising and humanitarian efforts of Filipino organizations and groups to help the victims of Typhoon Nona by giving them a venue to reach out to prospective donors.  At the same time, the fair helped prospective donors to learn and be informed of the many humanitarian responses to the natural disaster and make it easy for them to contribute their time and financial assistance. 

Each participating organization was given a table at the Philippine Center premises, where they displayed and distributed information materials about their organization and their humanitarian efforts.  They were also given a 20-minute segment in the program to give a presentation and invite benefactors to support their cause. The participating organizations took this time to talk about their organization and humanitarian efforts and present video clips and photos of their activities.  

A number of walk-ins, many of them non-Filipinos, visited the fair and were enthusiastically entertained by the participating groups.

Founded in 2010, Handang Tumulong Foundation, Inc. (HTFI) raises funds to give immediate help for victims of natural disasters wherever it occurs in the world, but with special focus on the Philippines. It is a non-profit, 501 (C)(3) organization domiciled in New Jersey. To date, HTFI has donated US$ 188,000 to various charities, parishes, schools and organizations, most of them on the ground and in the forefront of helping victims and in rebuilding the communities devastated by typhoons, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes.

The Volunteers from Northern Samar is an informal group of friends formed to respond to the humanitarian needs of the victims of typhoon Nona situated in the hinterland barangays in Laoang, Northern Samar that government resources had difficulty reaching. The group is led by New York-based freelance photographer Cesar Loverita, who coordinated with family members based in Northern Samar for the purchase and distribution of relief goods to the affected families.

The Philippine Disaster Relief Foundation is a Manila-based private sector-led 501 (C)(3) agency established in 2009 to raise funds to help devastated communities recover from and be better prepared to face future calamities.  It offers many donor packages, including Adopt-A-Home that supports the rebuilding efforts of Gawad Kalinga in Zamboanga.

Kinding Sindaw, a performing group engaged in showcasing and promoting indigenous Philippine culture in Mindanao and a 501 (C)(3) group, joined the fund raising fair not so much to raise funds as to focus attention to causes that aim to preserve and protect the environment.  Through special dance performances during the fair, Kinding Sindaw underscored the role of the indigenous peoples as guardians of Mother Earth.  The group also pledged to partner with participating organizations by contributing the troupe’s cultural performances in their future fund-raising projects.

During the fair, a check amounting to US$ 2,000 donated by the Philippine Chinese Association was turned over by Deputy Consul General Azucena to HTFI.  An acrylic-on-canvas 18x36 inch painting entitled “The Old Pulley” by Filipino artist Fernando Kabigting worth US$1,500 donated by him was auctioned off, 70% of the proceeds of which would go to HTFI.  The other 30% would go to Mr. Kabigting’s program to help young artists in the Philippines. 

The Volunteers of Northern Samar received part of the Philippine Chinese Association’s donation amounting to US$ 1,000 from HTFI. It has also received a US$ 1,500.00 from Fil-Aid Foundation based in New Jersey.

To ensure transparency and accountability, guidelines were set that essentially required full disclosure by the participating organizations about their organization, their partner organization in the Philippines, their target beneficiaries and feedback mechanisms for the donors. END