PhilAmTHropy: Philippine Crowdfunding on different shores
PhilAmTHropy: Philippine Crowdfunding on different shores

PhilAmTHropy: Philippine Crowdfunding on different shores

Through the wonder that is Twitter, I recently found out about PhilAmTHropy, a crowd funding site for Filipino projects, started by Filipinos all the way from America – California to be exact.

“There are 11 million Filipinos working overseas… However, there was no platform in place which allowed us to connect and reach out to each other on a regular basis, until now. Through PhilAmTHropy, we hope to provide a community that will encourage and support Filipino projects.” (from their About page)

 

Every single time I’ve been out of the country, one thing I’ve always been sure of is that wherever I was going, there was gonna be a lotta Filipinos. And I was never wrong. Almost every trip abroad has left me with a unique, touching experience of a fellow Filipino helping me and my family/friends out, going way and beyond whatever help we asked of them. And upon being on the receiving side of all this goodness, I always thought, “I wonder if there’s a group out there who’s helping these people along. I wish there was.”

So imagine what a pleasant surprise PhilAmTHropy is 🙂 Their name, a witty combination of the words “philanthropy,” and “Phil Am” or Philippine Ambassadors, is pretty self-explanatory. They help fund Filipino projects of all kinds, hoping that by “providing someone with the tools on ‘how to fish'”, they’ll be able to push people towards doing things they’ve always wanted to do. Being situated abroad, a big part of what they’re trying to build is community, connectedness, and pride. Filipinos are creative, ingenious and endlessly innovative, and as ambassadors of their country, they want to represent.

 

The projects they support at present range from performing arts, community service, and promoting local products 🙂

 

They call it “a new kind of People Power,” and by some definitions they’re correct. For Filipinos overseas, connectedness and support mean the world. In a way, PhilAmTHropy is a statement saying that you are not alone. Seeing the support that the projects have gained so far, there’s no doubt that the statement is true.

If you’re a Filipino away from home, or even if you’re based here in the Philippines, submit an idea! There’s a community waiting to back you up 🙂

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