A Box O’ Fun: Beyond Usual Celebrations

Volunteering for U! Happy Events gave me an opportunity to know different kinds of foundations that are present here in the Philippines and gave me a much wider perspective in knowing the field that I’m trekking – Nation-building.

U! Happy Events is a foundation for kids that acts as a bridge linking companies, volunteers, communities, and different foundations. It is like a portal that provides an instant connection between individuals, who are capable of giving help, and individuals, who extremely need help. It is a perfect tool for people, who would want to elevate their role in their respective community - from being ordinary citizens to becoming effective change-makers.

Most of the time, volunteers and partners of U! Happy Events develop a sense of responsibility for the community and for the nation every time they partake in the different events and advocacies of this foundation. And as a result, they would continue to give their time, effort, and resources in order to reach out to people in need and to fully exercise their capacity to give.

Through the years, some of the previous events that had materialized were sponsored by volunteers, organizations, and regular sponsors who would want to take a much higher step in making their impact to the society. And one of those sponsors who had decided to take this kind of step was FunLiPix.

FunLiPix is an on-site photo booth that provides photo souvenirs for different occasions (including U! Happy Events’ very own) and has been around the business for two years now. Last October 29, 2011 marks their 2^nd year anniversary and the people behind this company chose to celebrate this momentous event by partnering with U! Happy Events. And as a result of this partnership, an event was materialized and was successfully concluded. This event was entitled “A Box O’ Fun” and was held at the Fun Ranch, Ortigas.

“A Box O’ Fun” was celebrated with the kids of New Faith Family Home and it gave joy to them as they participate in different activities prepared by the organizers such as kiddie rides, magic shows, face painting, balloon twisting, mascots, clowns, and stilt walkers’ exhibition, raffle and games, and [of course] photo booth. The entire event was a mixture of fun and excitement and was made even more exciting when celebrity endorsers arrived at the venue and spearheaded the giving of gifts.

It was during this kind of moment when a kid would come to realize that he or she is not really alone; that he or she is being loved and being taken care of; that there are still people willing to support him or her; and that his or her life is still valuable and worth living. After all, these kids are not really the unfortunate ones. Even though they were abandoned by their original parents, they can [still] be considered fortunate because they witness what unconditional love really means and they experience what real care gives. These kids may lack the love of real parents, but they do have the love of real people… People, who are willing to take the risk just to give them what they really deserve.

As the event comes to an end, one would observe that every kid bears with them the joy that shines from within, the hopes that were rebuilt, the dreams that were regained, and the love that were reclaimed. All of these things are a product of everyone’s effort in providing joy and creating a deep sense of impact to the lives of these kids. This is what real people do and this is what real anniversary celebration should be. The event may have finally been concluded and efforts may have been repaid. But for the people behind FunLiPix, it’s just the beginning of reaching out, making a difference, and creating an impact to the society.