Brgy Tinig-Tugan!!! Our Entry to TW Philippines Got Talent Season 2

Presenting our dear performance as Team GRC.

Tinig-tugan is loosely based from the words:

Tinig - Voice

Tugtugan - Beat/Rhythm/Sound

The video is in Filipino but English subtitle is available. :)

In the 1st to 2nd week of December, we are to participate in the Got Talent Season 2. 

Last year  it's an individual competition only. But this year, it will be a group presentation competing with other company departments.

I just want to help out. Me, and 2 friends volunteered. And guess what, nobody else volunteered so we happened to become the organizers/managers/coordinators for this performance. Well okay, game on!

There was a lot of work. Coordinating over 500 people, 3 different shifts and different teams were a pain. Added difficulty is that most people are shy. It was very hard to get participants as performers and even for backup support. Then comes the props, costumes, photo shoots, videos, logistics, multimedia presentation, meal preparation, and of course schedule and practices.

Fast forward, The screenplay is ready, we got the members and are busy practicing almost every day and escaping work (more like deferring work) for later.

The theme were a rural setting. About the life of Angeline and the people from her Barangay. A talented girl, and also the people were talented too. 

Team Members (performers and back ups) during last practice

Stage Before Performance

It was a really fun performance. There were lots of cheers. Our presentation is the most different.We are the first performer. We did it, have fun, and finished successfully. We are very happy. :)

Scene Collage

Of course I did expect us to be the champion. But we did not make it. We gave the judges a hard time. Well that's life. Anyways we were still happy. Other people were telling us to that it should have been us. In our hearts and theirs, we are the champion.

1st Runner Up trophy

Team GRC in Costume

We were called as 1st runner up and posed for the camera.

Team GRC in Party Attire

This performance is not just for us aiming to win. It is for our beneficiary, the Cubao Kalakal Kids. A certain amount will be donated to the kids. I'm really glad that since we placed high, and with bigger prize, we were able to give them a higher donation.

Cubao Kalakal Kids

I'll never forget that feeling and experience. For next year, if ever a similar contest will be conducted, i'll gladly help again. I hope I get to work with the same people, and new ones. And hope that time, we will be the champion. :)

One Step for RED

Update (12/17/2014)

One Step for RED program has successfully ended last weekending December 7, 2014.

Results

My Contribution

http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/justdoit/one-step-4-red

Yeah that feels great. :) In the coming year, with the launch of our companies' Towards Wellbeing program, I hope a similar concept program will be implemented.

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What's a perfect implementation which will merge a 

fitness/well being program and a 

donation/fund raising program?

It's a question which remained on my mind after our company presentation about

Increasing Participation, Consciousness and Volunteers to Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives.

But on October 10, 2014, few days after the presentation, I happened to read about this program made possible by partnership from Nike, Bank of America and RED, titled

One Step for RED.

Overview

"Every day, 650 babies are born with HIV. Soon, that number could be near zero. Bank of America and (RED) have teamed up to bring us one step closer to ending AIDS.

Together, we can raise money to provide lifesaving medication that can help an HIV-positive expectant mother from passing the virus on to her babies.

You can help be a part of the journey by turning your miles (RED). So lace up, and get running."


Who can participate in the program?

Anyone who monitors their distance ran/jogged and even walked using Nike+.

How to participate?

Download Nike+ app.
Pledge (this will tag your next mileages as RED) via
http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/justdoit/one-step-4-red.
That's it! Rack up the miles!!!

What's in it for me?

Already a runner : the feeling of fulfillment that while doing your training and participating in events, you're also helping at the same time.

Just starting to run? Great, towards your goal of being fit, you will also be able to help.

For the beneficiaries : the miles logged will have equivalent dollar amount, and upon reaching weekly goal, certain amount will be donated. These monetary amounts will be donated by Bank of America.

Donation and Weekly Goals

1 mile  = $0.40 ( which is equal to a daily dosage of medication)

We will have Weekly Goal mileage and equivalent donation.
If the Goal is reached, the Donation Goal will be donated by Bank of America.

When will this last?

This program started October 12.

As of the time of writing, we are currently on Week 4... less than 5 weeks to go!

The weekly goal gets higher and higher and we need all the help we can get!

Current Status for the Week

200,000 Miles is the goal this Week 4... I really hope for it be reached!

Really glad my runs reached this amount...
Won't be able to donate this much from my own pocket :P

Conclusion

I really like this program. My initial impression was, wow that was smart! 

It was a win-win situation for all involved. It also utilizes modern technology, our gadgets and apps.

I'm really inspired with this program and I hope it can be applied to our companies'

Towards Well Being program and WAVE advocacy initiatives.

References

Pledge Now! - http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/justdoit/one-step-4-red

View Status - https://www.nike.com/cdp/justdoit/onestep4red/leaderboard/
Bank of America Article - http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/press-releases/corporate-philanthropy/red-and-bank-america-challenge-global-fitness-community-go-dis
RED.org - http://www.red.org/en/
Nike+ Running App - http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/running/nikeplus/gps-app

I've created a widget on the right side to the One Step for RED sign up page...
You can also use the Strava Widget to follow me on Strava site if you use that running app.

Recap – September to December 2014

So much to do, so little time...
It's been 1 and a half months since my last post...
Need to set aside writing for other tasks...
But now it's time to catch up!!! :)

Past Activities / Events / Whatever Stuff

September
International Coastal Cleanup 2014

October
Cosplay Mania 2014 at SMX Convention Center
One Piece Pizza
TW Trick or Treat 2014 - Floor Decoration - Oggy and the Cockroaches
Ultra Marathon Event for November - Registration, Preparation, Analysis, and Training Plans
One Step 4 RED

November
Outreach Program - Visiting Cubao Kalakal Kids
Andres Bonifacio Day 106 km Ultra Marathon

December
My Dream In A Shoebox - Making #BIGGERDREAMS Come True!
Brgy Tinig-Tugan!!! Our Entry to TW Philippines Got Talent Season 2
TW Christmas Party - One Road to 2020

Got a lot to write about... HAHAHA!!! :)

Increasing Participation, Consiousness, and Volunteers to Initiatives - Content Draft

We are going to have a presentation / brainstorming activity for our company next week..

And the topic that is assigned to us is...

"What are the other things we can do to increase participation, consiousness, and volunteers to these Community Service Initiatives?"

Here's what our team are able to come up with...

Before the Event Campaign

Promotion Campaign Methods

• Email Blast
• Infographics
• Posters
• Published Calendar of Events and Activities (Needs More Activities)
• Published List of Participants for specific events
• Contents ranges from FYI/facts, Upcoming Events, Statistics

Presentation

• Must be attractive, catchy but matches the purpose of the event.

Content

• Invites for events must contain complete details.
• What - event background
• Who - beneficiary organization's details, possible team assignments, volunteer skills needed if any.
• Where - location of event
• When - schedule
• Why - mission statement for the event
• How - contains how the event is planned or program, transportation, materials, food, operation.
• Prior to acceptance - this is important to manage volunteer expectation.

Who???

• People want to help but may not be able to join on the day of the event.
• Exceeding number of target participants.
• Provide "More Ways To Help"
• Fund raising, back office, logistics, coordination, multimedia, documentation.
• Choose the right people for the task.

After The Event Campaign

Post Mortem

• Provide information and maintain good volunteer experience.
• A summary of the held event.
• Important to indicate what is done, what worked, what did not work as expected, and how to handle in the future.
• Must be sent to all, not just to the participants.
• This way, Those who are not able to participate are still informed, and may decide to join in future activities.

Video Presentations, Pictures and Documentations

Tools

• Online Presence - set up official accounts using various free services online
• Offers flexibility of being assessed outside office network and mobile devices.
• Facebook - creating pages which can be used for event announcements, Campaigns
• Twitter - quick updates
• YouTube - upload video documentations of
• Instagram - quick Photo sharing
• Blogs - documentation of events
• Online Surveys - for feedback, information gathering, like Surveymonkey

Charge Codes / Benefits

• NOT for the volunteers. This is a volunteer event.
• Event Management/ Planning / Meeting / Organizational task which cannot be avoided but are done during office hours.

This is subject to change by the way. It may seem serious but actually it's an informal presentation. :)

"I Don't Always" Meme by memegenerator.net

Who Am I And Why I'm Here

Based on Wordpress Blogging101 Assignment

After months of my Blogger account being dormant, I logged in again and created 3 quick posts.. And since I never really wrote a lot, except for my set of college diary notebook, I think If I create post after post, along with reading other people's blogs, I will be able to improve my blogging.

It's like pure coincidence.. And It's meant to be.. That last week, I stumbled upon Wordpress Blogging 101 announcement. And I said to myself, "Wow, this is what I needed." No second thoughts, Email signed up.

And today we got our assignment. "Who Am I And Why I'm Here". When I think about it, It was during "Job Interviews" that I really got opportunity to introduce myself.

Introduction

My name Willie Jan. I'm a Software Developer/Consultant by profession.

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?

Keeping a personal journal is also fun, but I'm NOT going to share a personal journal. Haha! There are things that we know of, or we encounter, that are worth sharing to others. It can bring information, inspiration, awareness to the reader. Blogging also offers flexibility on the content details we aim to share. Something that cannot be done with social networking sites.

What topics do you think you'll write about?

I think my main priority for articles is to write about any Environmental, Community Outreach and Volunteering programs I'm able to participate and document, including adventures during Mountain Climbing. Fitness is also important for all of us. I will be able to share my journey from being a couch potato to an Ultra Marathoner, and what lies beyond. The other topics I'd like to write will be about Animals, and my other hobbies, Anime, Video Games, Gadgets, Business, and maybe cooking? Those are the things I'll clearly write about but I won't close the door for random topics.

Who would you love to connect with via your blog?

I would love to connect with anyone. And yes, there may be specific target audiences for some of the topics I've listed above.

If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

I'll be very proud and congratulate myself of Forming the Habit of blogging. By that time, I should have also improved my blogging and writing. I think I'm also be able to appreciate and notice small things. And also, the feeling of looking at the entries for a past whole year is amazing, quite an accomplishment.

Looking forward to the future! :)

Messages From The Leaves of the Tree

This "tree" is found at the office which organizes our coastal cleaning activity for next week. It's a simple gesture, but I'm able to feel the persons' wishes, promises, and pledges which they wrote on the "leaves" of the "tree".

If only trees can communicate with us,..

What would they tell us?
What can we promise we can do for them?

Here's the summary of the messages on the leaves...

• Plant more native trees
• Minimizing Waste
• Segregate Wastes
• Saving Energy
• 3R.. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
• Love Mother Earth
• Love and Appreciate Nature
• Help Nature Recover
• Save Our Forest
• Heal The World
• Always be part of the change

And that's it. 

I know we can do our part in small ways too.

Let's be part of the change.

There may be more things that can be added.

Let us know! :)

- Prepaid All The Way with LoadXtreme -

Just a sharing on my business venture. :)

It was 2009, I'm taking a stroll at SM Megamall. Dropping by SM Mega Trade Hall, there was a fair for small business. I browsed thru the exhibitors. There are a lot of them. Ranging from Small Capital investment to, ehem, very large I wish I could afford them.

Then here comes a booth. VMobile LoadXtreme? 

What's that? Curious I went to it and looked at the marketing materials...

The gist is that, :

• With LoadXtreme, it can be used to load all networks and other prepaid products.
• becoming a Dealer or Retailer, will gain an account to the LoadXtreme system.
• LX Loads are used to perform loading transactions and can be replenished by transferring/deposit from other bank account or thru counter.
• Transactions can be done thru SMS, thus are not fixed to any single network or thru it's internet loading facility.
• The major benefit is that I'll be able to avail of 8 - 12% discount on all products loaded. :)

I'm a prepaid user. 

I would love to have some kind of part-time. Some kind of income, even if not big, just regular, useful and I can benefit too.

Having a frustrated entrepreneurial desire, the sales person didn't really have to "salestalk" me into signing up. It's a good thing I have enough money back then to sign up for the Dealer account back then.

I got something like the package below.. Though this is the latest package offering.

VMobile LoadXtreme Present Package

 And here's the website for transactions, account monitoring, and other stuff.

LoadXtreme Website

Fast forward to present...

I have regular customers as of the moment. I'm using it for my own consumption, especially now that mobile internet is all the rage. In the past 5 years, I don't know how much I've saved. Must have been a lot. This is the main reason why I don't opt to whatever postpaid plans available. I control my spending, and get to pay less for load because of the discount. Thus the title,

Prepaid All The Way!

Product Features

Load All Networks

Applicable only for products based on Philippine Telecom Companies

but can be received even if user is on another country.

Globe

Sun

TM

Smart

LoadWallet Transfer for all networks

LX Load Transfer

Online Game Top Up Cards

Landline Top Up Cards

Cable TV Top Up Cards

ABS CBN Top Up Cards

Insurance

SM e-Plus Reload

Website transaction and record monitoring.

Android Mobile App

Package Pricing

Dealer Package : 4998

Retailer Package : 300

Account Membership

Contact me : willie.jan.altarejos@gmail.com

Sample Marketing Material

References

http://loadxtreme.ph

http://www.loadxtreme.ph/new/resources/

- A Day of Volunteering @ GreenEarth Heritage Foundation -

Last August 16, 2014 is a very productive and well spent Saturday, where more than 60 volunteers from Towers Watson Philippines conducted it's yearly Tree Planting Activity organized by WAVE Environment Group.

The partner/beneficiary for the said event is the GreenEarth Heritage Foundation located at Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges, San Miguel, Bulacan. The venue is estimated 2 and a half hours travel time away from Metro Manila.

Towers Watson Philippines and GreenEarth Heritage Foundation

The day started by meeting at our office in Bonifacio One Technology Tower, Taguig City. Call time is 5:30 am and departure is 6:30 am. Fortunately we're not that behind schedule. During the travel, there were games, quizzes and prizes. Some dedicated participants came from mid-shift, and took the chance to sleep during the travel.

There's a short hike, maybe close to 5 kilometers, going to the GreenEarth site, which the participants were able to experience before being fetched by service van.

Stretch of non concrete road

Bamboo raft to cross a good-thing-its-not-deep-this-time river

Volunteers crossing the river

We were welcomed by the villagers and their kids playing simple musical instruments. James Matti gave an opening speech, then we were given a tour to the GreenEarth Heritage facilities until we reach the Tree Planting Site.

Welcome Message to TW Volunteers

James Matti speaking to the villagers and volunteers

Tour around the GreenEarth site

Group Picture after Tree Planting

The volunteers took lunch the proceeded to the Study Hall for GreenEarth Heritage presentation, games and activities for the kids. We played Pinoy Henyo, Charade, and The Boat Is Sinking.

On the Study Hall for presentation, and games with the kids

Me with fellow TW Associates and GreenEarth Kids while playing The Boat Is Sinking

That's the end of the activity with GreenEarth. Now, backtracking the hike, though now we're riding the van, and back to the bus. Going back to Manila.

I really had fun with this activity. We were able to meet new people and help GreenEarth even in a small way. By giving back to nature, i'm also able to express my appreciation for it, and what it has given us.

Until the next event! :)

Token of Appreciation from TW WAVE Environment Team

For more information about GreenEarth Heritage, visit it's website at http://www.greenearthheritage.org/

Credits to WAVE Environment Team, Dru for other pictures